


The Genius Curse

by DrakePendragon



Category: Angel: the Series, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 1st Person POV - Fred, Angel Season 5 non-compliant, F/F, F/M, Gen, Internal Babble, Internal Monologue, Long Road, MCU AU, Occasional dark!Fred, Tech-Babble
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-03-14 01:37:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 32
Words: 88,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13583259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrakePendragon/pseuds/DrakePendragon
Summary: Winifred Burkle, scientific genius, accepts a job offering by megalomaniac Tony Stark instead of working with her friends at the demonic law firm Wolfram & Hart.





	1. It's Raining Men

**Author's Note:**

> SEVEN YEARS IN THE MAKING! Wow! I posted this on another writing community back in 2010 and wasn't satisfied with it. Been rewriting it ever since and figure I should finally post it again. This is my fan fiction baby. Treat her well, please.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy, Angel, or Marvel.

Hi, I’ll be not only your narrator but your main character in this tale. My name is Winifred Burkle. I’m a certified genius with an IQ just past 200. Which is really good! It’s just… it seems like the more points you got, the more problems come with them. Almost like I had to trade sanity points in a game to roll higher on intelligence. But, despite that, I really thought my life would be normal. Maybe work in a lab or teach at a school. Something simple, something quiet. Maybe never even move away from Dallas if I could. As things progressed, though, I moved to LA for college and I started to think my life would alternate between lab work and library work. It was manageable then, but only barely. It wasn’t really fulfilling. Still, everything still classified as normal.

Then, everything changed. My life became science and magic and demons and death and dismemberment and all kinds of scary stuff. I’ve been to another dimension, which is altogether amazing and all kinds of human pioneering-like even if it was the worst experience of my life. What I didn’t know is that my adventurous life was just beginning. I was about to trade in my career as a demon hunter and magical expert for one of super science and super villains. Would I remember Fred as I’ve been or would I become something else? Does all that introspection have a point or is it because I found myself staring at nothing and letting my mind roam freely?

I was in my room at the Hyperion Hotel here in LA staring at the painted walls like a woman possessed. It was almost like I could see my crazed drawings under the layers of paint. Paint my friends and family painstakingly applied coat after coat to make sure none would shine through. A concerted effort to make me try to forget how off my rocker I was. But it doesn’t work because I know they’re there. I know because I could feel them at that moment scratching under my veins. I could still tell the tale of the mad librarian trapped in a beautiful hell until her knight in shining leather saved her. I didn't need to see the drawings to remember that.

It’s been two whole years since Angel rescued me from Pylea. Two short years since I came back from Hell. Everyone had just kept moving in those two years cause we never really had any kinda choice. I never had a chance to sit back and let the crazy set back in. Always moving, always solving one big catastrophe after another like some world savior kinda shark or something. It kept me busy. The gang thought I went crazy from being in Pylea, which of course, is partially true. Five years as a runaway slave with an execution order on your head will do that to you.

My real insanity is inaction. Five years with nothing to do that would keep me sane. And well, to be honest, since the dust settled on the Jasmine issue and her head chunks were power washed off the 101, I’ve had nothing to do. I was feeling that crazy building just under the surface again. My brain needed exercise. It needed to run free and just keep on sprinting and sprinting towards some unknown goal of mine. I needed a problem to work on.

I knew there was a piece of red chalk in my nightstand, hiding just so in the back of the drawer where it’d been forgotten since my last crazy spree. The one that caused all the painting. I could feel it calling to me. I could start inventing again. I had my canvas: these four walls, and if I needed it, the ceiling. I could chalk it all over everything if given the chance. Could I just use drafting paper and a computer? Maybe. Sure! Why not. But this… this is how a person like me really does it. Let’s me envision something and do the whole grand picture deal.

But I can’t. I can’t let myself have the chance, so I suppressed the notion. I have successfully hid the real depths of my madness from everybody for the past two years. Last thing I needed was for them to come home and find out that wispy Winifred Burkle was a mad scientist if left to her own means, cackling away over some Frankenstein monster she whipped up from stolen demon parts. I hid that from Charles so well that it would break his heart if he saw me like that. We went our whole relationship without him getting a whiff of that crazy. How could I show him that the woman that shared his bed was not who he thought she was? Instead, I just stomped it down and walked over to my window, staring out at Los Angeles for some kinda sign. Providence from above and all. I laughed at that. Signs don’t just fall out of the sky like angels cast out of heaven.

Now, the universe has always mocked me. Always wagged her finger at me and told me not to assume things cause they make an ass out of me. That night, my sign did fall out of the sky. I watched a red and gold metal figure plummet towards the ground. It seemed to be flailing about quite a lot. That’s to be expected of course, cause humans always try to fly when they can’t. Something blasted from the figure’s feet and hands and rocketed it upwards again. Energy propulsion of some kind? That fascinated me tremendously cause he didn’t have the visible equipment for it be jet propulsion. The turbines alone would be impossible to miniaturize, I figured.

He reached around the height of the Hyperion when the thrusters on both his hands and one of his feet went out. I’m assuming it’s a he, of course. The outline was masculine to be sure, but it could be female pilot or even a genderless metal golem of some kind. In my world, just about anything could happen. I was making an assumption that it was even human. Then again, I don’t see many demons with a hankering for even mundane tech let alone whatever that was.

He/She/It flipped around until the other three activated again. It was a bright flash of light against the darkness of the night sky with the sound of some kind of tinny afterburner. It was my only warning to get away from the window. Years of survival training and experience made me react before I even realized I was moving. I rolled over my bed and fell onto the ground on the other side just as the metal figure in red and gold broke through my wall and crashed to the ground in a shower of brick, mortar, and dust.

As I scrambled up to my feet, I got a better look at this tin man. Its, well, maybe his by the yelp and grunt I just heard, golden face plate held two rectangular slits which would give the appearance of eye holes, but by the fact that there was teal light coming from them, it was for show. The helmet must have a heads-up-display on the inside to show what is in front of the wearer. Otherwise he’d just be flying blind as a bat, wouldn’t he?

The faceplate disengaged with a pneumatic hiss and slid upwards. I cautiously moved over to the figure and saw a very handsome man with a pirate style mustache and goatee. His blue eyes were unfocused and drifted around the room. Possible concussion. They finally settled on me as I knelt down next to him. “Maybe you should make sure your engines fire consistently before you try to fly,” I told him.

“Right. It’s only a wiring issue,” the man said. He sat up slowly and looked around.

“Try segregating your wires more. It eliminates the energy bleed between lines,” I said.

“That’s exactly what I was going to do,” he said before looking at me curiously. “But how did you know that?”

“Elementary electrical engineering,” I replied with a nonchalant shrug.

“That’s the reasoning behind insulated wiring. How did you know that was my issue?” he asked.

“Your engines restarted every time you hit them, but that also shut them off a few times,” I pointed out.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Fred, what’s yours?” I asked.

“Fred? Really?” he asked in bewilderment. It’s short for Winifred, so I don’t think it’s that uncommon. I mean, Winifred is pretty uncommon but I didn’t need to justify my name to him.

“Yes, really,” I stated firmly.

“Tony,” he said after a moment. He extended his armored hand to me, which I took and shook. Tony’s right foot shot off an energy pulse that caught my carpet on fire. I pulled away from his hand like it was poisonous.

“Turn your suit off, for crying out loud! I don’t want you blasting me with those things!” I exclaimed. I grabbed the blanket off my bed and beat out the fire with it.

“If I turn it off, then I have no mechanical advantage and I have to move the suit myself,” Tony complained.

I rolled my eyes at him and let out a derisive sound. “I figured as much. But I’d prefer you with mobility issues than me with melted bones,” I replied.

“I’d prefer the ability to move,” Tony said. I scoffed.

“I’m so glad you care about the state of matter my bones are in,” I said dryly. “Can’t you just turn off the thrusters?”

“Not without tools,” Tony said.

I glanced at his hands and feet. I’m fairly sure I had the appropriate tools to access his tech in the basement. I was guessing, obviously. I had never seen tech like that before. “I got a small lab in the basement of this building. Can you walk down there without blowing up said building?” I asked.

“I think so,” Tony said. The thruster on his foot fired again. I grabbed the blanket and put out another fire.

“Stand up, then deactivate your suit, now. I don’t care how long it takes you to walk down there,” I demanded.

Tony stood up and gave me a lopsided smirk. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. He took off his helmet and powered down his suit.

“This way,” I told him, walking to my door. The trip down to the basement was very, very slow. He couldn’t board the old elevator because his suit made him drastically over weight. We had to take the five flights of stairs down and then the last flight to the basement. All of it without mechanical advantage. It was clear that it was exhausting for him. Ha, ha. Better him than my bones.

My ‘lab’ as I so erroneously called it, was tucked away in the opposite corner as the power generators for safety reasons. It wasn’t much, just a collection of tools from very low tech to pretty middling or high tech. Once in the lab we quickly stripped the suit off him in basic sections. Arms, legs, feet, gloves, chest, back, and helmet. It took us about a half hour but eventually Tony was sitting on my table in a tight, blue and black jumpsuit next to his deconstructed ‘Iron Man’ suit. He was studying the wiring in the right leg that kept catching my floor on fire. “You sure you don’t want another set of eyes on that?” I asked, a bit of my old Texan drawl in my voice.

“No, I’m quite sure that this is beyond a simple college level education,” Tony said. I glowered at him. He underestimated me. That needed to be rectified.

I picked up the gauntlet and popped the seal on it. I got more than a good look at everything while helping him out of it. It was more than a wiring issue, he had an amplification issue. The crystal lens that fed into the repulsor array wasn’t secured proper and it was weak to begin with. He’d probably do better with a large number of micro-emitters instead of the larger one that leaked energy. “I’m surprised you didn’t blow yourself up,” I commented.

Tony looked up at me with a look of shock, horror, and a little more shock. “Don’t touch that,” he said.

“Just hold on,” I said. I picked up a tool and fused the crystal lens in place. I grabbed the insulators that I had set out and segregated the wiring. “Done.”

I tossed the gauntlet to Tony and he inspected it quickly. “What did you do to the amplification lens?” he asked.

“I secured it,” I replied.

“That’s it?” he asked.

“Well, I had a few other ideas, but you were all needy,” I chided him.

Tony put the gauntlet down next to him. “Like what?”

“In its current configuration with the macro-emitter energy generation? Adding another layer of crystal, doubling the distribution channels, shielding the exit port, and adding a thin glove of de-ionized gel to prevent backlash cause that could burn your hand off,” I listed off the top of my head.

“Impressive. I retract my statement of college level education,” Tony said. He tossed me the gauntlet again. “Get to work.”

“You’re joking, right? I can design that for you, but I don’t have the means to do that here. The most I can do for you is making it so you can safely fly home,” I said.

“I could tell by the level of equipment in your lab. Get drafting,” Tony said.

I made a derisive noise. “You’re telling me you couldn’t figure this one out yourself?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t be asking you to design it for me if I could do it myself,” Tony replied.

“Alright then,” I said skeptically. I grabbed a pad of paper off my desk and started sketching.

The ideas started flowing through me like a fast moving river. I just let that river flow out through my pencil and onto the paper. It felt good to have a truly new problem to work on. I had never seen anything like this in my life. I don’t know how long I was at it but when I put the pencil down he had finished fixing up his suit to fly home. I finished it up and handled them to him. Tony looked over the sketches in surprise. His eyebrows weren’t coming down from his hairline. “I’m prepared to pay you handsomely for these,” he said idly, fingers tracing over some of my designs as he wrapped his brain around them.

My nose crinkled up in disapproval. “What if I don’t want your money?” I asked.

“Then, I don’t know. I have two offers for you: Dinner with me or employment as my R&D partner,” Tony said.

It was my turn for my eyebrows to rise. I cocked my head to the side in confusion. “So, either its dinner with you that I’m assuming would end up in a nice bed and then we part ways or I become your lab partner,” I clarified.

“Well, yes. Those are my offers if payment isn’t acceptable,” Tony said.

Part of me was greedy. I was kinda hoping for the dinner and the job, but I wasn’t going to mention it. I’d been single for a while now but I wasn’t desperate, even if Tony freaking Stark was offering. “I’ll take the job,” I said.

I really didn’t have anything here anymore. Everything was full of bad memories. The rest of the gang could manage without me and it’s not like I’d be reluctant to help when needed. I’m really not over losing Cordelia after just getting her back. Maybe it was time for something new in my life and Tony Stark and Iron Man was certainly new. And shiny. I love new and shiny.

“Great. Shall we celebrate by going out to dinner?” he replied with a smug smile.

I could help the smile that came to my lips. “Okay,” I said with a slight giggle to my voice. I couldn’t help it, he was damn charming.

“I’ll just fly home, now that we fixed my suit, and drive back here to pick you up. It should only take an hour.”

“Where do you live?” I asked.

“Malibu,” Tony replied.

“Not too far away at all,” I said.

It didn’t take too long for us to reassemble the suit around himself. I watched as he activated it again and the faceplate slid into place. The LED eyes lit up and it was like a different person standing in front of me. Despite the scuffed up paint from crashing through my wall, no, that actually added to it. Tony looked… heroic. Iron Man. I was going to be working with a superhero.


	2. A Change in Scenery

I stood in the living room of Tony Stark’s Malibu… home? Residence? Habitat? Manse? Villa? Estate? I’m not sure what the right term would be, besides urban chic castle. A blank white wall sat in front of me. I don’t know why it puzzled me so much, it’s not like every kazillionaire needs to cover every square inch of his… villa in artwork. This was definitely a villa.

“Ms. Burkle?” JARVIS pleasantly asked. The AI’s mechanical voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, thoroughly implying its level of control of the structure. For all intents and purposes, I bet the AI could be considered the building and vice versa. I wonder if it was upset I was staring at it for so long. Maybe I should just apologize to it. That would be the polite thing at least. It would be good to extend as many decent human emotions to an AI as possible.

“Hmm, yeah?” I replied, still staring at the blank wall and trying to ascertain its purpose. Other than as a wall, I mean. Being a wall was an important purpose. It maintained structural integrity, kept out the elements and unwanted guests when paired with at least two other walls and a roof. It, by all rights, could just sit there. Obviously, my thoughts and actions don’t always line up.

“Ms. Potts shall arrive momentarily. Shall I open that window for you?” he asked. It was a window! Oh…

“Thank you, JARVIS,” I replied. The metal plating retracted to reveal the beautiful Malibu coastline and the expansive Pacific Ocean. I don’t know why I didn’t partake of this view the last time I was here. I blushed at the memory of what I was partaking in, instead. Quite the view with an interesting mechanical fixture that didn’t blend seamlessly with the rest of the organic expanse. I wondered if JARVIS’ sensors could read my embarrassment.

The pneumatic door hissed open behind me and I heard the sound of high heels clicking against the tiled floor. Always very telling. Her steps were rigid and clipped with a perfectly spaced gait. She was upset and trying to hide it. “Ms. Burkle?” the woman asked.

“Yes?” I asked. I turned around and gave her my best friendly smile that I could. I recognized her from a picture on Tony’s dresser.  That’s really awkward when you think about it. She gestured to the wrap around couch for us to sit. I managed to sit gracefully only because the Hyperion had a completely circular couch in the lobby that I became accustomed to. Even though that had the opposite directional bend to it. That was an outer bend and this was an inner bend but I figured I pulled it off since I didn’t seem to embarrass myself.

“My name is Virginia Potts, and I am here as Mr. Stark’s PA to interview you before you assume the role of research and development partner alongside Tony Stark,” Ms. Potts said, all formal and businesslike.

“Alright,” I replied. I noticed some of my old Texan drawl came in my speech just then. Damn that drawl. People never take me seriously as a scientist if I talk in that drawl.

“Let’s start with something simple, to break the ice,” Ms. Potts said. “Your name is Winifred Burkle and you were born August 9, 1979?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied. I spotted the teeny camera on one of the buttons of her dress. One would assume she was having JARVIS analyze my reactions to see if I was telling the truth. I don’t know why I was so nervous. Ms. Potts has been nothing if not cordial to me in the few things she had said so far. I guess it was the hint of coldness in her eyes. She kept smoothing out her dress as if she was the one being interviewed. A brown lock of my own hair drifted into my vision making me hastily push it back behind my ear. Apparently, my sloppy bun was too much so. Of course it was. I ruined everything before it started!

“Ms. Burkle. This is interview will seem odd at best. I’m not going to go over your qualifications to be Mr. Stark’s partner since he wouldn’t have chosen you if he didn’t think you were qualified. Instead, this interview is going to establish whether or not we here at STI can trust you with him. Stark Technologies and Innovations and Mr. Stark’s side work is purely proprietary technology, so I need to determine if you are a security risk,” Ms. Potts told me.

I took a deep breath and smiled. I had nothing to hide. Well, except the five years spent in a hell dimension and all that pertaining to it and my life since. “Okay,” I responded. My voice was nervous and shaky.

“Ms. Burkle, how did you meet Tony Stark?” she asked me. That should’ve been an easy enough answer, but I’ve learned that nothing with Tony is easy.

“He crashed through my wall,” I replied simply.

Ms. Potts gave me a confounded look. “He did what?” she asked.

“I was in my room in the renovated hotel I live in, just staring out the window when a red and gold guy flailed through the air and took out my wall. His foot proceeded to set my carpet on fire… twice,” I explained.

Ms. Potts shook her head. “Next question: Ms. Burkle, why did Tony choose you to be his partner? I’d like to point out he’s never had one before; not even a lab assistant,” she said.

I shrugged. “I have no idea. Maybe it’s because I guessed his favorite type of coffee?” I asked. I didn’t know why he wanted me to be his partner. Why would I know what the inside of his head looks like? Well, anatomically speaking I guess I do. I guess that’s not what she meant. It could be. Bet not. Not going to bring it up. My nervous internal babble was getting out of control.

Ms. Potts sighed and ran her hand over tightly pulled back red hair. “That would be my job, not a partner in research & development. So, let me rephrase the question: what did you do to show that you are competent to work with him?” Ms. Potts asked.

“I guess it was when I designed improvements to his gauntlet design and he admitted he couldn’t figure them out himself,” I told Ms. Potts.

“That’s ridiculous, Tony never admits to anything like that,” Ms. Potts replied hastily, breaking her perfect and professional PA persona. That was nearly alliterative. Maybe that’s the real woman I’m getting a glimpse of. The real Virginia.

“I swear that’s what he told me, Ms. Potts,” I pleaded.

“Moving on, I have here in your file that you were offered a position at a law firm called Wolfram & Hart as the head of their physical sciences division. It also says that your former employer is the current CEO; three of your former colleagues hold C-level positions. Why didn’t you take that job?” Ms. Potts asked.

“Mr. Stark offered me the job before Angel did. 67 minutes earlier, in fact,” I said.

“And how did Tony offer you this position?”

“Uh, verbally?” I offered, not knowing exactly what she meant by that.

“How did the offer come up?”

“He offered me payment for the designs, but I didn’t want his money. So, he offered me a veiled one-night-stand or a job as his partner,” I said, trying to not blush at the slip of my tongue. I hadn’t had any intention telling her about that.

“I’m surprised you didn’t take the one-night-stand,” Ms. Potts commented under her breath.

“It was tempting,” I admitted without thinking.

“I’m sure, Ms. Burkle. Though, I did happen to notice that JARVIS greeted you when you entered the house today. Have you been here before?” Ms. Potts asked.

I felt the hot blush rush to my cheeks. “We, Tony and I, had a celebratory dinner after I accepted the job. I believe we had too much to drink,” I cautiously said.

“Of course. There hasn’t been a woman able to resist him, Winifred,” Ms. Potts said wearily.

I stayed silent after that. I realized that Ms. Potts essentially told me that she had been to bed with him too. “I’m not a bad guy, Ms. Potts,” I said meekly.

“Please, call me Pepper,” Ms. Potts said warmly. “I believe that you’ll do fine around here if you can accept Tony’s level of crazy.”

“I’m more worried about him accepting mine,” I admitted.

“He’ll ignore it and keep working. But if you want someone to talk to, you can always talk to me when I’m not running cleaning up his messes,” Pepper said.

“Thanks,” I replied gratefully.

“Come on, let’s get you situated,” Pepper said. We stood up and walked out of the room towards the lab, my new work space.


	3. Roll with the Punches

“Are you seriously doing paperwork at eight in the morning?” Tony demanded. I looked up from my work to see him fully suited up.

“Are y’seriously goin’ joy ridin’ at eight in the mornin’?” I countered. Did I really just say that in full drawl? I know I just got off the phone with my parents but I didn’t realize I let it get that bad.

“It’s not joyriding. There’s an armed conflict in Ghana. A paramilitary group is trying to take over a remote village for some reason. They don’t stand a chance unless I get there,” he replied.

“Well, those Cyclone Wind Turbines ain’t gonna get installed up and down Tornado Alley ‘less I get this paperwork finished. I promised m’parents that’d I’d get this done,” I replied. I closed my eyes for a second to flush the accent before he thinks I’m gonna start parading around here in boots and a cowboy hat. And clothes! My god. And clothes! What is wrong with me today?

“Then what are we waiting around for? We both got work to be doing,” he stated as if the conversation hadn’t gone the way it did.

Something on his suit caught my eye and it horrified me. It was untested. Experimental. And Tony-bleeping-Stark was bringing it into a war zone! I had invented an ionized ferrofluid that could be deployed in under a second to work as energy ballistic shielding. It was a genius idea but as I mentioned, I had never put it through testing! It passed a basic pressure test as proof of concept but I never shot at it!

“What the hell, Tony! The IoFerro System is completely unready for use!” I exclaimed angrily.

“Relax, Fred. I read all your notes. It’ll work. Trust me,” he said with his charming roguish grin. That really has to stop working on me. It’s embarrassing.

“Off with you, then. Come back in one piece,” I told him sternly.

“Don’t I always?” he replied cheekily. Iron Man flew off out the exterior ramp.

I finished up the paperwork to be sent off the governors of the Tornado Alley states. This was a major accomplishment for me. The Cyclone Wind Turbines was the first major technology that I invented that could help my own home town. Help my parents. I should be feeling elation, pride, and bunch of other things like that. But all I could do was worry about Tony.

“JARVIS! I need the dummies to set up a firing range with the IoFerro System,” I called out.

“Of course, ma’am,” he replied dutifully.

As the robots assembled an Iron Man chest plate with the ionized ferrofluid shielding on it, I headed over to our small armory. We had just about every kind of firearm on the market in that closet including a great many the violated California’s assault weapons ban. I ignored all the flashy ones and went for a large duffle bag that contained our basic ballistic test weapons. They weren’t pretty enough to be on any kind of display and couldn’t be reliably used in any kind of conflict, but they were just what we needed for the testing.

“The IoFerro System is ready,” JARVIS informed me.

“Thank you, JARVIS,” I said kindly, forcing myself to retain proper manners even when I am under this kind of stress. It was never excusable to be rude to JARVIS. The last thing we want is a hostile AI.

I placed the bag down at the firing range and laid out each weapon. It really wasn’t the firearm itself that mattered here, but the ammunition used. It wasn’t like the combatant was gonna strike him with the rifle itself. And even if he did, the suit would surely survive that impact. No, this was about the bullet itself. Sure, different weapons fired rounds at different rates and speeds but we had compensated for that as well, hence the sheer amount of firearms I was testing today. I slid on my ear protection, put on a pair of gloves, and picked up the first of many pistols of the day and loaded the magazine into place.

“5mm Remington Rimfire. Firing five rounds,” I stated clearly. I fired all five shots into the center of the chest plate. Holographic displays popped up all around me displaying all the results. Instead of going into all the physics and metallurgical results, I believe I can sum it up as completely non-effective. Not a scratch, dent, or ding. That’s a tremendous relief. The first ballistic test of the IoFerro system was a proper success.

Hours went by as I tested everything from basic small arms to shotguns to rifles to heavy machine gun fire. My arms felt like death. My greatest worry was a one-second burst of HEI ammunition. The machine gun put fourteen rounds down range in that single second and the High Explosive Incendiary rounds put the IoFerro system into cascade failure. Everything, including the redundant generators, failed under the stress. It was the first catastrophic result. Luckily, the armor held up although with significant damage.

I was on the last test of the day and my confidence in my IoFerro system was severely rattled. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to find out the results of this test. I slid the bolt back into place and set up the rifle. I had a new chest plate installed with a fresh IoFerro system installed.

“Okay… final test. One .50 Caliber APEI round fired from a SI Light Arrow Anti-Materiel Rifle,” I called out nervously. This was Stark Industries old top of the line sniper rifle. Nothing compared with it, even today. I lined up the shot to perfect center, the housing for the arc reactor, and squeezed the trigger. The shot rang out like cannon fire and the secondary explosion from the round nearly blinded me. When the smoke cleared after the fire suppressors kicked, there wasn’t anything left on display stand.

“JARVIS? Where’s the chest piece?” I asked with more than a little panic in my voice. A half dozen holographic screens appeared in front of me showing smoking, charred chunks of the armor scattered around the lab. Complete, total, destruction. If Tony was in that suit, it’d be an assured fatality.

“Save data. I… I can’t deal with this right now,” I said quickly. All the holographic screens disappeared and I packed up all the firearms. With them locked away and the lab secured, I hurried off for a hot bath to get the oil and the smell of gun powder off of me. I kept fighting with myself about trying to fix the faulty design on just not think about anything at all. I went with the latter, knowing that Tony probably wasn’t gonna run into such specific conditions out there.

Later, I found myself in my room enjoying the quiet my mind developed. Pepper and I were curled up on my bed, watching the Princess Bride on my ridiculously large television screen. I don’t know if I could even justifiably call it a television. The level of technology that went into it far exceeded anything on the market. I think it would be fitting to simply refer to it as a screen. I rested my head on Pepper’s shoulder and she sipped her hot chocolate. It was one of the mushier parts of the movie that I believe neither she nor I would ever openly admit that we liked, so it was more of a guilty pleasure.

“Ms. Burkle, Ms. Potts, we have a situation concerning Mr. Stark,” JARVIS announced. Pepper was already in a pretty much upright position, but I sat up like I had been hit by a misfiring Tesla coil. This was exactly what I was worried about.

“Explain,” Pepper and I said at the same time.

“Mr. Stark has sustained severe injuries in his campaign to Ghana. It is unlikely that his landing will be smooth or safe. He is, as he put it, trying to thread the needle into the lab,” JARVIS said.

I jumped off my bed. “Screen, off!” I stated. Pepper and I rushed out of my bedroom in pajamas. “JARVIS, give me an exact description of his injuries.”

“Mr. Stark has fractures in dextral ribs two-through-six, sternum, dextral scapula, and both clavicles. He has a wide array of lacerations and shrapnel in his dextral lung. The middle lobe is filling with fluid. The arc reactor in his chest has sustained severe damage and is leaking Palladium into his chest,” JARVIS stated.

My body locked up in horror and I stumbled on the step up out of the living room. Pepper steadied me. We turned to the staircase leading to the lab. There was so much to deal with. “Pepper, I need you to retrieve the arc reactor I was working on from my desk in the lab. We’re going to need to replace his damaged one,” I told her.

“Right,” she said. Her voice was shaking and the color had left her face.

“JARVIS, prepare a solution of Lithium Dioxide; set the lab up for emergency, invasive surgery; and prepare a solution of Project Regeneris serum,” I ordered.

“Tasks one and two are commencing, but task three is untested, ma’am,” JARVIS stated.

“I don’t care, JARVIS. Do it anyway,” I snapped.

“What’s Project Regeneris?” Pepper asked me as we descended the stairs to the lab door. I placed my hand on the sensor and the door opened up.

“I’ve been developing a serum that would induce rapid cellular regeneration. It would heal a wound in a single second that would normally take six weeks. It is, however, untested,” I explained.

The Iron Man suit crashed down the ramp and severely damaged the Mazarati parked there. “Tony!” Pepper screamed, running to him. I clapped my hands and snapped my fingers to wake up the machinery.

“Don’t just be a bunch of useless dingbats! Get him on the table!” I yelled. The mechanical arms hurried over to Tony and lifted him up. I walked over to the sink and completely sanitized my hands. One of my personal robots held open my lab coat and I slipped into it.

“Everything is prepared according to your specifications, ma’am,” JARVIS said. I hadn’t got a look at Tony, but by the fact that Pepper was crying I was undoubtedly worried. I walked over to the table and saw the extensive damage done by a tank shell. I hadn’t tested that. I hadn’t thought to test that. I couldn’t believe the kind of fool I was to let him rely on untested tech! I pulled off Tony’s helmet and found him unconscious. I checked his eyes and his ears and found the signs of severe concussion.

“Pepper, I need that reactor,” I said. She nodded and hurried over to my desk. I gingerly removed the broken reactor in Tony’s chest and saw the liquid Palladium dripping from it. I handed it to my robot and it carried it away for me. Pepper handed me the fresh core and I installed it. First hurdle completed.

“What next?” Pepper asked.

“I get to work,” I replied. I removed the rest of the broken plating on his chest to expose his severely damaged torso. Blue lines extended from the reactor in every direction. It looked like a high tech crossword puzzle. I noticed a severe amount of inflammation around the blue lines. I picked up the syringe of Lithium Dioxide and injected the entire dose into his neck. Next was the shrapnel in his chest and then finally the Regeneris serum.

I picked up the cloth beside me and dabbed away most of the blood on his chest. Pepper took the cloth from me and I carefully removed the pieces of metal and deposited them in the small bowl on the table. All that was left was the most important field test of a serum ever. "Serum," I said. My personal helper robot handed me a large syringe with a bluish-white, opaque liquid inside. I took a deep breath and pushed the needle into the largest wound. The thick serum injected smoothly and the wounds stitched themselves closed within seconds. I removed the needle and stared at his unharmed chest. I believe I had just done the impossible. The Regeneris serum worked.

Tony appeared to be resting, so Pepper and I decided to wait for a while longer. She kept running her hands through his damp hair and whispering to him. Her tears had abated for now. I knew that the moment I went back up to my room, I would completely lose it. My invention failed him. I wouldn’t forget that.


	4. Inside the Fish-Eyed Lens

“JARVIS, activate at 60%” I stated. I crouched into a more balanced position and held my arms up. The gloves that covered my hands had thousands of wires covering my arms and my torso. An electric hum filled the air and made my arms itch and tingle. I pointed my hands at the two metal crates five yards away from me. The air rippled between my hands and the crates shuddered before lifting off the ground. With a grunt, a balance shift, and a dramatic arm movement I threw them into the wall.

“Ms. Potts is approaching, ma’am,” JARVIS told me.

“Alright, shut them down,” I replied. The tests were returning positive results, but I was hoping for a smaller expenditure of energy and not so dramatic movements. So far the yield/return levels were cost prohibitive to the suit. I could just augment the suit with magic, but it really felt like cheating. I slipped the gloves off and untangled myself from the mass of wiring.

The lab doors hissed open and I turned around to greet her. Pepper stood there with her mouth agape. “What was that?” she asked, no, she demanded.

I followed her line of sight to the two dented crates against the wall. “Synthetic Telekinesis, Mark Six,” I replied.

“I’m going to pretend I understood that. What is that all over you? It looks like that Kinesio tape all over the Olympics,” she asked. Not a far-off assumption. There were bright cobalt and silver strips of metal adhered all over my body, either outlining or running directly through every muscle group from my neck down.

“I got the idea from watching those athletes actually. It’s a diagnostic tool to analyze the strain the body is under when using the ST device. The silver marks the movements and stress levels of the muscle groups as a whole. The cobalt actually keeps track of the muscular statistics. Y’know, heat, tension, energy output. I’m planning on integrating it all into the jumpsuit Tony wears under the armor so we have an eye on his physical condition when he’s out being a hero,” I rambled on, trying to explain it the best I could. I walked back to the lab desk and slipped my white doctor’s coat on over my cami and cargo pants. I went from adventurer to geek in nothing flat.

“What made you think of this?” Pepper asked.

“Tony’s near fatal encounter with that tank round two months ago,” I replied. I picked up the design specs and titled a new page as ‘STmk.VII’.

“How does it work? Non-genius version, please,” Pepper asked. I really hate that question. I could barely explain it in ‘genius’. I didn’t want to tell her you point your hand at something and it floats. That’d be patronizing and rude. I’d tell Angel that. And Charles. Especially Spike.

“Well, the dominant theory behind it are Electromagnetic Fields, but that is only 15% of it,” I said, avoiding the nit and grit of it.

“What about the other 85%?” she asked.

“About 900 other things ranging from atmospheric alteration to dark energy. There’s a lot of translating corresponding magical theorems to scientific properties. Sometimes it takes pieces of nineteen different technologies to compensate for one magical concept,” I admitted. Honestly, the whole thing produces the worst migraines. I should have consulted Wesley about it. Bounced my ideas off him like old times, but I was so determined to do it by myself.

“But how would this help?” she asked, gesturing to the crates.

“He said that he got hit by the round because he couldn’t stop it. I’m developing an enhancement to his suit that would prevent that from ever happening again, short of inventing a better, tougher suit,” I stated.

“And us ever seeing him like that again,” Pepper added. I nodded in agreement.

“I felt like I had failed because it was my tech that failed, despite his foolhardy decision to use it untested,” I said.

“I still have nightmares about that night,” Pepper admitted.

“Me too,” I said. We stayed silent for a while longer. I started designing again. I really didn’t want to think any more about that night than I already do. If I had anything to say about it, Tony would never be in that kind of situation again. But what could I do? I’m not a superhero. I don’t have powers or a suit. I’m a lab geek.

“You do know we have a photo shoot today for that article in TIME magazine, right?” Pepper asked.

I looked up at her with confusion, the designing temporarily forgotten. “What article?” I replied.

“The ‘Stark and the women who make him’ article. You and I were interviewed together for it? How can you not remember? We had lunch with her at Moonshadows,” Pepper said in exasperation. She quickly found out that I was just as trying as Tony, albeit in a completely different way.

That’s what made it come back to me. “Oh, yeah. That’s today? I thought you said that was in a week?” I asked.

“I said that a week ago. You haven’t really come up for air since I told you,” Pepper replied gently.

“Oh,” was all I could reply. I wasn’t presentable. I didn’t have an outfit to wear. I looked like hell. I never had to worry about this kind of stuff working for Angel! I could wear, well, anything cause it would probably be covered in demon gore by the end of the day! This was different! This was TIME magazine! People in my hometown would be seeing this in the checkout line! They’d buy it and scrutinize my horrid appearance! All my work would be snuffed out with a simple disappointed shake of the head! Look at Winifred, still can't get her act together!

It was like Pepper could read my mind. “Go, hurry up and take a shower. I’ll have an outfit laid out for you on your bed. The shoot is in one hour,” she said.

“You’re an angel,” I said. I almost hugged her, but noted that she was looking very nice and probably didn’t want my sweaty body on her. I shrugged off my lab coat and hurried out of the lab. I took the stairs two at a time until I reached the main floor. Tony was sitting in the living room, reading some magazine. God, it better not be a nudie magazine. I don’t want him thinking about that in our photo-shoot. But hell, those pretty much are the girls that have made him.

Tony looked back at me. “You forgot, too, huh?” he asked knowingly.

“Yeah, Pepper’s a life saver,” I replied. Instead of the better asked: whatcha reading?

“As are you; the article is quite accurate when they say that you two make me,” Tony stated, holding up the magazine which seemed to be a mock-up of the article they were going to publish. Silly me.

I blushed furiously. “I got to go get ready,” I said lamely. Tony waved his hand absently and I hurried out of the room, still feeling the fire in my cheeks.

By the time I came back downstairs, it was time for the photo shoot. Pepper pulled me into the kitchen and smoothed out my low cut blouse and skirt. No, the skirt wasn’t low cut. I’m not sure what that would even mean. Would it be the hem or waist that would be lower than normal? Either way that’s a low-rise skirt or a short skirt. “So, what’s the article going to look like?” I asked. She did a little maintenance on my freshly styled hair, making sure the waves didn’t get in my face.

“It’s going to briefly discuss Tony and the new legacy of Stark Technologies and Innovations, you know, the betterment of the world? Then it’s going to go in-depth into how your skills have greatly broadened the scope of the old Stark Industries. After that it’s going to discuss how none of that would be possible if I didn’t hold everything together and act as almost every officer in a company at the behest of Tony,” Pepper explained.

“Am I up to your standards, Ms. Potts?” I asked dryly as she fiddled with the bottom of my blouse.

“You’re good. Let’s head down to the living room where Tony should be entertaining Ms. Raymond and the photographer. Not like that,” Pepper said, chastising me for the thought that admittedly went through my head.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied. We adopted a more professional pose as we walked in.

“Ah, the two ladies you’re here to see,” Tony said, gesturing to us. I fought off the urge to blush at the attention. I smiled cordially at Ms. Raymond.

“Whenever you’re ready, we’ll get started,” Ms. Raymond said.

“Let’s say we start in ten minutes out on the terrace?” Pepper asked.

“Sounds great,” Ms. Raymond said. Pepper led the journalist and the photographer out to the terrace.

“Why did I have to be a part of this? Can’t I just hang back in the background?” I hurriedly asked Tony. He was sitting on the other side of the wrap around couch, nursing a scotch.

“TIME magazine wanted to do a spread on you and Pepper,” Tony said. That sounded wrong. Pepper even looked away from me.

“I don’t like the spotlight, though,” I stated.

Tony got up from the couch and walked to the small armoire that he kept the sitting room liquor in. He started pouring another drink. “The spotlight is part of this gig. We, Stark Industries, were in the spotlight because nobody could create better weaponry than us. I changed our legacy, and our name, and decided we would further nobler goals. I mused, for a moment, that we would be ignored because of this. It turns out that the people love a hero who tries to help them rather than provide their governments with arms. I didn't believe that people would believe we changed. What would you think if Haliburton suddenly decided to abandon the arms trade to make solar panels?” Tony explained. He walked over to me with a drink in hand. I blushed faintly at the memories of the last time we truly drank together.

“The world knows that Winifred Burkle designed and invented the Cyclone Wind Turbines that are now slated to be installed all over the mid-west region by the end of next year. They love that someone created a turbine that could not only withstand tornadoes, but harness their power to provide energy to the areas decimated by the very same act of nature. They know that Winifred Burkle designed and invented the new carbon-steel alloy that could withstand forces of nature six times better than the current compound. Deep sea research companies have invested heavily on that front,” Tony explained.

“Yeah, but I don’t think I did that much. I’ve only been here five months,” I said.

“Don’t think, drink,” Tony told me. I smirked wryly at him and took a sip of the scotch. God, it was nasty. “The world knows that Winifred Burkle, through Stark Technologies and Innovations, has made it so that third world countries can afford strong and durable building materials to rebuild their infrastructure after a civil war. They love you, and they only know your name. That’s why you have to be a part of this. They want to know you. Otherwise, they only know you through TMZ and tabloids,” Tony stated.

“I don’t know how to act the part,” I admitted.

“It’s easy. Not many people should be themselves when it comes to the media. But you’re exactly the type of person people want. You’re confident in your abilities but you don’t hold it above anyone else. You know you’ve been gifted with a great gift and you want to help everyone you can. Add to that a feeling of self-accomplishment. You don’t want to be all over the world building these villages for the people who need them; you want to provide them with everything they need to do it themselves. You want to build more than villages, you want to build pride,” Tony said.

I flushed brightly and took another sip of the drink. “Thanks for writing a foreword for my biography, but that doesn’t help me on how to act out there,” I said.

“Finish the drink. It will loosen you up. Next, follow Pepper’s lead; she knows what she’s doing. Lastly, don’t stress it. We’re at home, remember?” Tony explained.

I took my last sip of the very stiff drink. “I don’t want this to become a necessity for public appearances,” I said.

“It won’t be. Pepper used to abhor the spotlight. I think she still does. She has, however, learned to cope with it very well. She’s amazing, now,” Tony said.

“Let’s go be models,” I said, feeling the alcohol fueled confidence take me. Tony bent his arm for me and I looped mine through his. We walked out onto the terrace where the photographer had set up his equipment.

“How’s this going to look?” Tony asked.

“Let’s get you sitting in the deck chair with Ms. Potts and Ms. Burkle standing behind you,” the photographer said. Tony walked over to the deck chair and sat down in it. He folded his hands together in front of his chest with his elbows on the arms of the chair. Pepper and I walked over and stood behind him. We automatically put a hand on his shoulders.

“Wow, that looks good,” Ms. Raymond said.

“I like the hands. It adds a nice touch,” the photographer said. He took numerous pictures of us in that pose.

“Next pose?” Ms. Raymond asked.

“Alright. Now, Ms. Potts, you and Ms. Burkle sit down at the table right there. Mr. Stark, you know them very well, make them laugh,” the photographer said.

Pepper and I sat down at the table. Tony sat at the other end. We were expecting him to start cracking jokes or something, but he just looked at us with a wry smirk and a twinkle in his eyes. I started to giggle. I knew I would crack first. I started to giggle and Pepper followed suit. Tony’s face was unmovable. This was ridiculous. I finally started to laugh as did Pepper. Tony’s face split into a wide grin. The photographer started taking more photos. I mused that maybe this publicity thing wasn’t so bad.


	5. Coming Home

I took my time, walking through the grand double-doors of the Hyperion Hotel. Everything still looked the same if I ignored the layer of dust. I smiled to myself at all the fonder memories of this place and refused to acknowledge all the times I nearly died there. Standard mindset for demon hunters.

“Fred?” Angel asked. I looked over to the offices and saw him leaning against the front desk in his leather duster and dark jeans. He didn’t look too much different, but I guess that was to be expected from a vampire. They don’t tend to age, just become disfigured. He certainly wasn’t old enough to be disfigured in any way. Quite handsome, actually. Still looked like my knight-in-black-leather.

“Yeah,” I replied. The sun was still out, so I understood his reluctance to enter the lobby. You never knew when the sun would reflect off the fountain in just the worst way. It was horrifyingly hilarious the time a reflection hit him wrong and he flailed over the couch to get away from it. Poor boy had a massive sunburn across his face. I headed behind the front desk to my old work station. There was a thick layer of dust on the old desk and chair. I had solved a great number of supernatural mysteries from right there. Saved a lot of lives.

“I’m glad you came,” Angel said. He looked evasive and nervous, two qualities I never liked seeing in him. He didn’t even hug me which put me off more. He was playing with a folded piece of paper in his hands.

“Angel, what’s wrong?” I asked. Angel gestured into his old office. I followed him in and we sat down in the chairs. He handed me a folded note. I opened it up and read it over quickly. It said ‘Your boss’ secret isn’t as secret as he thinks.’

“There’s a problem, Fred,” Angel said.

“Who knows?” I asked. Tony, Pepper, and I prided ourselves on keeping the Iron Man secret to ourselves. I even hid Tony’s arrival and the events leading to my employment from Angel and the rest of the group. Covering up the appearance of a man-sized hole in my wall was tough but a certain red-headed witch from Sunnydale owed me a favor. I think she also felt bad turning me down for that date.

“Myself, Wes, Gunn, Lorne know. I’ve hid it from the Senior Partners, so that’s not the problem. I couldn’t hide it from Spike, only because he’s a nosy bastard. Don’t worry about him. He doesn’t care much about it, plus he seems to take a liking to stories about you,” Angel said. He handed me a file. I opened it up and read over the patchy profile for an Eric Savin. There was no photo of him. Just an indistinct connection to an Aldrich Killian and an unnamed company. Two names that meant nothing at the moment. There were surveillance photos of pieces of a metal suit being recovered in the desert. I looked at the tag on it stating the location as Afghanistan. Someone recovered the Mark I suit. It was crude and inefficient, but serves as a good stepping stone to what we were currently developing.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I said. I took out my secure phone and scanned the pictures and files. I uploaded them directly to JARVIS. I could almost hear the disapproval in Tony’s voice. I rose from my chair.

“Be careful, we were already hit on a weapons sting. His lackeys are actual techno-ninjas. I couldn’t believe it myself, but Wes captured one alive when they attacked headquarters. They have a fail-safe explosive in their chests. I suggest killing them on sight,” Angel said. I took a deep breath and nodded. He rose from his chair. I shook Angel’s hand and left the Hyperion.

Two names. Two names of interest here. Eric Savin, our apparent current threat or Small Bad, and Aldrich Killian, our real threat or Big Bad. I don’t like this. The bad guys that operate with a proxy are always the tough ones. Jasmine had the Beast as her opening play. Holtz used Justine against us. Wolfram & Hart used Professor Sidel against me.

But this was different. We also had the Big Bad’s name. I think. Killian might just be another lackey. But if he’s throwing thugs at us, do we bypass the thugs and aim for the head? Aim. That’s what this is about. It’s always about aim. Who to go after to get our job done? I hate it when I rant in my head like that. Stupid wordplay doesn’t fix anything.

Angel had said that Wolfram & Hart had been hit. That had spooked him so badly that he had to go all cloak and dagger on me. Maybe I could get some information out of Charles or Wesley without appearing to do so. I pulled out my phone and dialed up Wesley’s cell number.

“JARVIS, record this,” I said.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

The phone only rang a few times before Wesley answered the call. “Wyndam-Pryce,” he said wearily. Clearly something had hit him hard. He didn’t even sound that British right then.

“Hi, Wesley. It’s Winifred,” I replied in as friendly of a tone I could muster. I was trying to make it seem like a social call.

“Fred? Ah. I apologize for my demeanor. These past few days have certainly been rough,” he admitted.

“I heard. Angel and I just met up so he could tell me about it,” I said.

“It was unlike anything prior, and that means quite a lot for us, doesn’t it?” he mused. The chuckle in his voice was flat and forced.

“Sounds like something more than robo-ninjas happened,” I observed.

“I lost my assistant in the first attack. We were on a weapons sting, trying to remove a major buyer from the Southern California market. The robo-ninjas, as you called them, attacked the operation, killed the buyers and her, and stole the working prototype,” he admitted angrily.

“I’m sorry to be crass, but what was the weapon?” I asked.

“No, it’s perfectly understandable to be worried about that. The weapon was high-powered rifle, competitive to the Stark Light Arrow,” he explained. I swallowed uneasily, remembering what that rifle did to the Iron Man chest piece.

“Was it retrieved after the attack on your offices?” I asked.

“No, and they stole from me a stabilization spell. I have no idea for what,” he said.

“Losing your assistant really hit you hard, didn’t it? Was she… were you two…?” I trailed off. Suddenly asking if he was involved with someone was really difficult.

“No, I had only met her right before. The… clan leader, if you will, used the appearance of my father to infiltrate our offices. He knew enough about me to wage quite successful psychological warfare. I did manage to kill that bastard, though, while he was busy trying to report to whomever controlled him. One small victory. My real father and mother are safe and sound at home. He was rather cross that I called him so early,” he joked.

“Good, I’m glad about that. I know I never met them like you met my parents an’ all, but I’m glad they’re safe,” I replied.

“Thank you, Fred. It’s good to hear your voice as well,” he said.

“Thank you for your kind words. Is everyone else safe?” I asked.

“Marginal casualties on our end. Harmony survived. I’m not sure whether that’s a happy occasion or not,” he admitted wryly.

“Harmony?” I asked in confusion.

“She was a girl from Sunnydale that was turned at the ill-fated graduation ceremony a few years back. She harassed us a few times before you joined up with us and now she’s Angel’s secretary. Spike absolutely hates her as they used to date. Makes for some interesting gossip,” he replied.

“How could those robo-ninjas even get into Wolfram & Hart? We had the damndest time breaking in ourselves,” I pointed out.

“We have no idea. The power went out and they were simply there. No warning. They attack with bladed chain-link whips with long curved hooks on the end. If the blades fail to lacerate you, the chain can break your neck or crush your chest, or the hooks can simply impale you. They are highly lethal, Fred. Instinct was my only salvation. Years of almost dying alongside Angel has taught me to duck,” he explained. That was pretty much all I needed to know without appearing to be fishing for information. I didn’t like what I found out.

“Wes, I’m sorry to cut our call off like this, but I need to get a hold of Tony. Maybe we can meet up for coffee sometime soon. I know STI has a gala coming up in a few weeks and I’d be happy if you attended in a non-official capacity,” I told.

“I’ll mark my calendar. Black tie affair?” he inquired.

“But of course. I’ll be wearing that red dress from the time we went to the opera,” I told him conspiratorially.

“Exquisite. I cannot wait,” he replied.

“Great, I’ll talk to you later, Wesley,” I said.

“Goodbye, Winifred,” he answered cordially. I hung up and couldn’t suppress the happy giggle that went through me. I actually found myself unable to wait for the gala myself now. Wait, did I just ask my date out on an ex-boyfriend? I mean the other way around. Did I just ask my ex-boyfriend on a date? No… we never actually dated. Did I just ask my Wesley on a date? I guess I did. That’s a good thing, right? I’m certainly giggly enough. Tragically, my good mood quickly soured as I dialed my next call.

“JARVIS, secure this line to the very best of your abilities,” I instructed.

“Of course, ma’am,” he replied.

“What’s up, Fred? What did Fangy want?” Tony asked.

“It’s bad. We have a new player on the field. Cyborg ninjas, bladed chain whips, impossible levels of stealth, a stolen competitor to the Light Arrow, a stolen Stabilization spell of some kind, and penchant for killing,” I rattled off real quick.

“That is troubling. Any names?” he asked.

“Eric Savin and Aldrich Killian,” I replied.

“Well, I don’t know the first name but I doubt its Killian. He supposedly committed suicide years ago after one of his products ended up in the hands of terrorists,” he said.

“Still, I don’t like supposeds,” I said.

“Agreed. Completely. I’ll start digging into this. You should probably get back here. The fact you’re just sitting in the Hyperion courtyard is making me nervous. That is not a secured location at all,” he said. He was probably monitoring me via satellite right now. This really has him spooked as well.

“I know your peeping on me from up above and I’m telling you that I’m safe here. But I do think I should get back home,” I admitted.

“I’ll see you when you’re back. This is where we are actually safe,” he said. I couldn’t help but agree. If I was safe anywhere in this world, it’d be in the Stark Villa.


	6. Incendiary Reaction

I was a wreck. I knew Savin’s attention was on us. I could feel his gaze. That is not crazy. I swear it isn’t. I didn’t want anything to happen but at the same time, I hated waiting the edge of something as well. I wanted things done with. It had been three weeks of paranoia. I rarely left the Villa at all. We believed we were ready at all times. We programmed major lockdown protocols and I had even found a better use for my IoFerro fluid. It worked as a perfect containment and shielding catalyst when it wasn’t confined to cover a suit of armor. Quadruple the volume and create a wall mounted projector and you have a perfect device to contain something in a hallway. Say for instance, an exploding robo-ninja.

So, when I heard the smallest footstep out of place outside my room, I was ready. I had more adrenaline running through me than I ever had before. No one was supposed to be in this part of the Villa right now. Pepper was in New York on company business and Tony wouldn't be sleeping right now. He was also never quiet.

“JARVIS, lockdown the complex!” I hissed out.

“In progress, ma’am,” JARVIS replied.

The IoFerro gates snapped into place throughout the Villa. I grabbed the gun I stashed in my nightstand. Everything was in working order and I had extra ammunition in my jacket. True paranoia becoming useful. I felt something rage through me that I haven’t felt since Pylea. I felt like a survivor again. I was fighting for my life and my body was reacting. This was old and familiar. The voice of a coach in my corner of a boxing ring.

I put my jacket on and only now do I realize I must have looked comical. I was wearing pink flannel pajama bottoms and a smiley face baby doll t-shirt with a leather jacket and a .45 caliber handgun. I picked up my earpiece off the nightstand and slipped it in.

“Tony!” I whispered. I cocked my gun and crouched behind my bed.

“Fred? Are you okay?” Tony asked.

“Yes, where are you?” I asked.

“In the lab, having a little trouble,” Tony replied. I heard gunshots. “Fred, I need you to get down here and start shooting at them so I can suit up,” he said.

“You want me to play bait?!” I hissed.

“Very effective and deadly bait, yes,” he replied.

I took an unsteady breath. “Fine.” I rose from my hiding spot noticed that my door was ajar. I didn’t leave it ajar. On instinct, I ducked. A barbed chain swung over my head and embedded in the wall. I got up and saw one of the cybernetic enhanced ninjas in the corner of my room. I shot him twice in the chest. He fell to the ground and I ran towards the lab.

“Ma’am, I detect two hostiles in the living room,” JARVIS said through my ear piece. I passed through an IoFerro gate due to the DNA encryption installed. It was like walking through hot slime. I entered the living room and spotted both of them. Two more chains whipped out, making me dive to the side on reflex. Lack of aim made me crash through the glass end table and smash one of Pepper’s hand-picked Venetian hand-blown lamps. It provided some jagged shrapnel for me to throw, allowing me time to scramble to my feet, snatch up the gun, and put a round in one of the ninja’s chest. The breast plate buckled on under the force but I wasn’t sure if it actually penetrated. Turns out, buckled is enough because that explosive Wesley mentioned up and detonated. The second ninja was caught in the blast and exploded. I flipped back over the couch and crashed into the wall.

“What the hell was that?” Tony asked.

“Shoot them in the center of the chest. They have a failsafe explosive device in case of capture. It creates a rather pitiful explosion if you forcibly detonate it,” I said with a pained grunt, heaving myself up to my feet.

“Seriously?!” Tony demanded.

I hurried down the hall towards the lab. Another ninja cut me off, clearly angry that he had been caught between two IoFerro security gates. He hit something on his chest and chanted in a language I’d never heard before. Which is really creepy odd cause I’ve heard most languages. How would they have found one of the few I haven’t heard?

“Warning, primed explosive device detected,” JARVIS announced urgently.

“Contain!” I yelled. A sphere of Ionized Ferrofluid shot out of the fire suppression system and enveloped the ninja. He exploded violently but the thick gel contained the blast. I couldn’t even feel the heat. The concussive force of the blast, however, splattered the gel everywhere. The cohesive bonding in the suppression system left a lot to be desired.

Three more IoFerro gates and I was there. JARVIS opened the lab door for me and I was greeted by two explosions. A few of Tony’s cars were totaled in the blast. I shot one of the ninja’s in the side of the head and he dropped, making me the new focal point. Lucky me. Time to play bait and more importantly, survive it. I started ducking chains from the other three ninjas. I hid behind one of Tony’s cars as they continued to attack.

I rose for a moment to fire a round into the chest of one of the ninjas. He detonated and took out another with him. I heard the sound of a chain flying and ducked. Metal clanged on metal and I opened my eyes to see the chain wrapped around a red metallic arm. “Bad idea,” Tony said. He punched the ninja with his free hand causing the neck to snap.

“JARVIS, are we clear?” I asked.

“No, ma’am. There are still five hostiles in the vicinity,” JARVIS said.

“I’ll take care of it. Fred, stay here,” Tony said. I nodded and sat in my desk chair. I took deep, unsteady breaths. I placed my gun on my desk and stared at my shaking hand for a little while longer. I survived and it felt a little too much like living in Pylea. Except in Pylea, only the slaves exploded, not that bad guys. I let out a small, choked laugh and rested my forehead on my desk.

“JARVIS, was there anything stolen?” I asked.

“I am running inventory concurrently,” he replied.

“Fred, they Villa’s clear. After I got there they took off,” Tony said.

“Good news…” I muttered.

“No. They ran off with an alpha sample of your Regeneris serum,” he replied.

A high powered anti-materiel rifle, a stabilization spell, my Regeneris, the Mark I armor. This wasn’t adding up. I couldn’t see the bigger picture here but I wasn’t liking what I as putting together so far.

Tony and I spent the entire night cleaning up the lab and the rest of the Villa which included disposing of bodies. Funnily enough, I had never seen him look at me like that before. It was thirty percent impressed, ten percent confused, and sixty percent disturbed. The hatchet might be doing the majority of it. Bodies are easier to carry in pieces and chopping through bones and joints ain’t that hard if you understand the physics of it and how the hatchet is meant to be used. It helped to have been a part of Angel Investigations for two years. Taught me how to leave zero trace behind disposing of a corpse. Never had to do it with humans, though. That was new. And disturbing.

We spent the whole night pointedly not talking about what had just happened. Instead, true to form, Tony was planning our ‘We Live!’ party. It was going to be big. The biggest party there ever was. We wanted simultaneous concerts in every major city in the world with every rock star that ever lived. It didn’t matter if they were alive or not because we were alive. We spent hours arguing between a couple dead rockers, debating their music and even the philosophy behind the songs we chose to represent their best work. It was the best distraction ever. That’s what we needed: to pretend this night never happened with the night that will never happen.

Every good time has to come to an end, however. Pepper blew through the lab doors in a fury while pulling clumps of IoFerro gel out of her hair. We could see the impending explosion building in her. I almost asked JARVIS to ‘contain’ her like we did the blow-up ninjas. I didn’t know exactly what Tony put his message to her, but knowing him, I’m sure it was woefully inadequate.

“So! Blowout of the century to celebrate our survival against the odds! What do you think?” Tony called out from the makeshift catwalk we threw together over the remains of his cars. It was kinda hard to move around with that wreckage in the way even though we put the fires out real quick.

“Party?! You want to party?! I just had to tell the Malibu Police, ATF, FBI, NSA, and SHIELD that an experimental arc reactor under development caused an explosive chain reaction. I just lied to five agencies. I can’t even look Phil in the eye right now because he knows that I was lying to him. I don’t even know what I covered up!” she yelled at him.

“Who’s Phil?” Tony asked.

“Agent Phil Coulson. Our liaison to SHIELD?” she asked slowly like he should know this already.

“I thought his first name was Agent,” he replied.

“Savin attacked last night and stole a sample of Regeneris,” I explained as calmly as I could.

“That’s the past right now. We need a party,” he interjected.

“The gala is in two days! Two days!” she stated firmly.

“So we reinforce the STI main building today and tomorrow. Install an Iron Man installation in the basement. Implement Fred’s IoFerro Gate system throughout the complex. That sound good?” he suggested.

“Sir, I have discovered another instance that suggests Eric Savin’s involvement,” JARVIS announced.

“Let’s hear it,” he replied.

“An alternative energy laboratory in Seattle, Washington, was hit one week ago and the experimental TempFocus plasma was stolen. The head of the lab was killed in the assault,” JARVIS reported.

“What is TempFocus?” I asked before Tony could speak. He gave me a small glare for cutting him off.

“TempFocus project that is attempting to create a new automobile fuel source. The plasma involved reacts under sunlight and absorbs energy. The project is stuck in alpha development,” JARVIS explained.

“Why would anyone want an unusable energy source?” Pepper asked.

“It’s a plasma. They stole the alpha stage Regeneris serum as well. They could be looking to synthesize something from it,” Tony suggested.

“JARVIS, why is TempFocus stuck in alpha development?” I asked.

“Currently, TempFocus converts electrical current into explosive energy,” JARVIS explained.

“Fred, what would happen if you synthesized Regeneris and TempFocus?” Tony asked.

“The effects on the body would extreme. The user could grow extremely strong, fast, and durable. The extreme cellular regeneration would become nearly instantaneous. I’m guessing that if you tried to decapitate the person with a sword, the neck would be reattached by the time the sword cut all the way through. Vampires could dust in their very presence. Maybe even some form of pyrokinesis. Absorption of solar energy would extremely increase those attributes. However, the chance of overloading and, well… explosion… would be… extreme,” I trailed off, realizing how many times I said extreme.

“So, Extremis would need a stabilization agent, with they have,” he added.

“Extremis?” I asked.

“Extremis. Extreme Regeneris,” he clarified.

“How do we beat something like this? Do you think they’d have something ready by the gala?” Pepper asked.

“The energy is solar based. If I can access the Darkforce, I can deplete its power,” I commented.

“And if they did something with the wreckage of the Mark I, that’s my cue,” Tony added.

“But what if they attack somewhere else? Indonesia? Columbia? France? Shouldn’t we give everything we have on them to SHIELD?” she demanded.

“Wherever these jokers show up, if they’re using my suit and her serum, we will stop them. We are not going to roll over and kill ourselves like Aldrich Killian did a few years ago. We made this. We’ll unmake this,” he said sternly. I nodded in approval.

“I’ll call Wesley. He’ll have something for me by the gala,” I said.

“We need to tell Phil,” she said worriedly.

“Invite him to the gala if you’d like,” he replied dismissively.


	7. Dying of the Light

The gala was in full swing. We had upwards of two hundred people here. A large contingent of reporters. Some local and state government officials. Lots of people from the green movement as well. I was constantly faking a laugh, humming through a conversation, or shaking hands. My cheeks hurt from fake smiling so much. It was all so time consuming that I couldn’t get the Darkstone from Wesley without drawing a lot of undo attention. I felt bad because I felt that Wesley was really trying to talk to me.

As Tony was in the middle of his key note address, my phone vibrated in my purse. I discreetly fished it out and found a text message from Angel. It was simple and very alarming. Savin has super-villain complex. Lovely. That wasn't vague and disconcerting at all. I quickly and quietly excused myself from the stage and slipped out the back of the room to the hallway outside. My fingers quickly typing out Angel’s number.

The line rang for a third time and I was getting impatient. You can’t just send me that kind of message and not answer your phone. “Fred?” Angel asked.

“What do you mean ‘super-villain complex’?” I hissed out. I looked around to see if anyone was nearby and my free hand favored resting in my purse.

“Spike and I met him,” Angel explained.

“How?! The Extremis he’s developing should have dusted you by simple proximity!” I told him.

“I don’t think he finished whatever that is yet. Wesley wasn’t sure so he brought the Darkstone with him. Savin was wearing the modified ragtag version of an Iron Man armor. He lured us to highly decorated church and proceeded to try to kill us. I mean, points for creativity and all, but beating me with a crucifix? Really?” Angel explained.

“Wait, what? Why?” I asked incredulously.

“He’s trying to take out ‘heroes’. The head of that small lab up in Seattle was an unknown hero for that city. He was doing what we did with A.I.,” Angel explained.

“But what’s with the complex?” I asked.

“He thinks that he can take over the world. That much is clear from his insane ramblings and boy was that guy off his nut. I fear that he’ll attack you in public,” Angel said.

“We’re doing a charity gala right now,” I reminded him.

“Be careful,” Angel said.

“Thanks,” I replied dryly. I hung up the phone and reentered the auditorium. I returned to my seat off to Tony’s right just to catch the tail end of his speech.

Tony paused to smile at all the people in the audience. “That’s why, here at Stark Technologies and Innovations, our dedication to the prosperity of the world is ever growing,” Tony said. The audience broke out into applause. I dutifully smiled in support of Tony.

The gala picked up again and another round of drinks went around. More talking, more fake laughing, and more shaking hands. I maintained an eye-contact only conversation with Wesley as we moved around the room. I knew just where to find him if something happened and he did, in fact, have the Darkstone on him.

Around nine o’clock, when the party had wound down and only the press and some of the politicals remained, I noticed a bit of orange light coming out from under the double-doors. There was clear heat distortion coming from the edges. Tony was rushing out the room through the back while fixing his hidden earpiece. I had to fish mine out of my pocket and get it in place.

“JARVIS, sit rep,” I whispered.

“Ma’am, hostiles have entered the complex, I’ve initiated predetermined countermeasures. Ninety-five percent of cybernetic assailants are either deceased via self-detonation or contained in IoFerro fields,” JARVIS said. The doors crumpled in two large, burning metal hands and were thrown aside. Everyone started to panic.

The countermeasures activated and wall panels opened up and fired off IoFerro at the Mark I armor. They splashed against the slagging metal plating to no avail. His body was so hot that he was starting to melt the armor he had on. The man raised his hand directly at me. I dove to the side and a barrage of bullets hit nearby. By the rate of fire and the sounds of shells dropping, I’d say that was a repurposed submachine gun.  It would seem he hadn’t broken repulsor technology yet. Thankfully.

“Stay alive!” Tony yelled into my ear piece. I drew the small revolver from my purse, crouching behind the podium and looking for my next move. No good choices with that thing covering the field like that.

“Fred, where are you?” Wesley asked in my ear piece. I grimaced as the hail of bullets struck the quasi bullet-proof podium. It shook tremendously under the spray.

“Guess!” I replied shortly.

“Get off the stage!” Pepper screamed. I pushed off my hiding spot and ran while the stage exploded behind me. That’s what he did with Wolfram & Hart’s rifle. My feet went out from under me and the blast launched me off the stage entirely. I felt my body skidding across the ground until I hit another human.

“Fred!” Wesley exclaimed. He pulled me aside and sat me up against the wall. I pushed his hands off me and took in a few panicked breaths. He tried to force the Darkstone into my hand but I batted it away for now. If I tried to access the Darkforce with it at this moment, it could overtake and kill me. I needed to be calm and collected or as damn near to that as possible so it wouldn't just suck my life force out of me and leave me a brittle, sandy mess on the ground.

Pepper hurried over to us in our hiding spot off stage. We heard more gunfire and suppression systems activate. Pepper looked at me in horror. “Fred, you’re injured!” she exclaimed. I glanced down and saw that the back of my legs had third degree burns and I was bleeding from shrapnel in my side and arms. Strangely, I couldn’t feel it since my heart was still pounding in my head.

“Fred! Get down to the lab! I need you!” Tony bellowed into my ear.

“She’s injured!” Pepper angrily yelled into the earpiece. I winced and rubbed my ear. The ringing was going down so I felt just how loud she was.

“I’m on it, Tony,” I responded. I was aware of the slurred lilt to my voice. Pepper gave me an incredulous look. “Wesley… stand me up. I can do the rest from there,” I insisted.

“Fred…” Wesley said nervously.

“NOW, Wesley!” I snapped. My head flared up in pain as I yelled, causing me to wince. Against Pepper’s glare, he stood me up. I took off running unsteadily out the side door. My vision was sliding back and forth and my ears were ringing unbearably still. I stumbled down the hall to the elevator. I got in and fell against the wall, panting and leaving a bloody streak in my wake. I pushed the lab button and the elevator descended into the complex. Let me say that the fingerprint scan was a doozy right then. I got blood all over the console. I idly pulled a few pieces of shrapnel out of my arms and dropped them on the floor. Still no pain, I realized. It was beginning to worry me.

The elevator dinged and I waited for the doors to open. I used all my strength to push off the wall and start ambling down the hallway to the lab. The door was blown open with the edges still hot. I got into the lab and saw Tony in a partially assembled Mark III. He fired a repulsor blast into the chest of one of the robo-ninjas. These must be the last 5% JARVIS mentioned. I hurried to my lab area and fished through my drawers for my emergency med-kit.

“Fred!” Tony hollered. I didn’t respond because I was far more concerned about getting the syringe of Regeneris out, uncapped and into my leg. I bit down on my own hand to stop myself from screaming from the sharp pain of it passing through the 2nd degree burns under the more noticeable 3rds. My body went limp for a second and I slid to the floor as the serum worked its way through my body and fixed up everything, even pushing the shrapnel out of my flesh. The ringing in my ears dissipated and my vision stabilized. It was the best feeling in the world.

“Tony!” I called out. I grabbed something off my desk and a small duffle bag from under it. It was a techno-steampunk bracelet, the Synthetic Telekinesis project, Mark 38 prototype. I rose up and discharged a blast from the ST bracelet, sending a few robo-ninja’s flying into the wall with lethal force.

“A little help here!” Tony yelled. I ran up the stairs to the upper landing of the lab where Tony was. I fired a ST blast into two of the ninjas into the machinery. The remaining three focused their attention on me. I used the ST to reach out and forcibly snap one’s neck as they rushed me.

“Hurry up!” I told him. Tony shot another as it lunged at me. He jumped off the landing and went to finish suiting up. We desperately need a quicker way for him to suit up. I raised my hand to launch the last one. The ninja threw his chain out and it wrapped around my wrist making the blades sink into my skin and cut me deeply, almost fatally. The Regeneris was still rushing through me so I was being healed and hurt almost simultaneously. He yanked hard and pulled me off the ground. We crashed to the ground in a heap, leaving me seconds to scramble for a weapon. I managed to wrap my fingers around a twisted piece of catwalk railing and plunge it through his chest next to the failsafe explosive.

It took me a few moments to untangle myself afterwards. I had zero injuries but a lot of blood staining me. The problem with regenerating so much blood so quickly was stressful on the body’s bone marrow, making the major blood producing bones like the skull, femurs, pelvis, and sternum ache. I hadn’t found a way to fix that without introducing a numbing agent which would impair the function of the user, contradicting the purpose of Regeneris. After all, this serum might be a miracle, but it wasn't magic.

“I’m off to take out the thief. Secure the gala,” Tony said as his faceplate slid into place. Iron Man took off out the skylight to approach from a different angle. There was far too much press at that gala for him to come up through the buildings. We couldn’t let on that Iron Man was connected to STI but after tonight I don’t know how we’re going to deny it.

“Alright…” I replied out of breath.

I jogged back down the stairs to my desk to grab the small duffle bag. I took the elevator up to the ground floor and checked the duffle. It had everything I needed to give to Wesley in exchange for the Darkstone. The door opened and I saw Pepper and Wesley in the hallway. I pulled the semi-auto combat shotgun from the duffle bag and fed eight shells into it.

“Wesley!” I cried out.

“Fred!” Pepper exclaimed. She and Wesley ran over to me. I handed him the bag and the shotgun.

“Protect her,” I said. He opened his mouth to argue. “I hafta take care of that guy, you protect Pepper,” I ordered. He checked the bag and found two .50 caliber handguns and a lot of ammo. I knew his style.

“I will, but please don’t die, Fred,” Wesley said worriedly. He handed me the Darkstone. It was dark purples and blues, making it appear black and smoky on the inside. It was very old and cut in the old European style which gave it a great many facets. There was no brilliance or luster unless you stared deep within it. Then, it was said you see your own brilliance. The more you use it, the less brilliance you see. Or, at least that’s what the legend says.

“It’s a theme around here,” I remarked dryly. It was pure chaos in the auditorium. I raised the glove and shot a ST blast at the Mark I armor, destroying the anti-materiel rifle grafted to the right arm. The plating along it shattered and flew off. His skin was molten underneath. It was clear that the Extremis was going into overload. An explosion here would have catastrophic consequences. Thirty or more lives would be lost. This must be Eric Savin. It had to be. He stalked towards me.

“Guess what? I’m a hero, too,” I said loudly. I raised the Darkstone and fired a beam of pure Darkforce energy. Light appeared to die around it, darkening the entire room. He didn’t cry out in pain because his whole body seized up. All the power from Extremis was devoured by the pure darkness I introduced.  He struggled to raise his other arm and fired a hail of bullets at me. I didn’t have time to move. Maybe it wasn’t wise to taunt the super villain in the super suit.

Iron Man landed between us and took the bullets. The improvements to the plating of his suit stopped them dead in their tracks with no damage to him. A bunch of lead lumps fell to the ground with tiny clinks. I looked right into the glowing eyes of the face plate and nodded that yes, in fact, I was okay. All thanks to him. Iron Man turned around slowly and dramatically and squared his shoulders, pushing his chest out in the process. The central arc reactor whirled to life and fired off a hyper-powerful beam. It carved a hole in Savin’s chest and struck the wall behind him. Savin keeled over and collapsed on the ground, dead as a doornail thanks to two heroes. The people there cheered loudly. Tony looked back at me and I smiled weakly. It looks like we won this one.

I wandered back to the sidelines and sat down on a chunk of the destroyed stage. I placed the Darkstone into my lap, right next to a blacked part of my elegant red dress. It was completely ruined. Burnt away from the floor to my knees, shredded in a few places, the strap on the left side was pretty much gone save an inch piece hanging forward. It was stained with a ridiculous amount of my own blood. This dress has just seen too much combat and near-death situations. I’ll figure something to do with the remaining fabric. Can’t just throw something like this away. It's special now.

A handsome man, slightly balding and in a nice suit dirtied to all hell, walked over to me. I looked up at him with a tired, aggravated look. I knew who he was. Pepper actually invited him. Of course she took Tony’s flippant comment seriously. It got her goals done.

“Dr. Burkle, I’m Agent Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division,” he said.

“That’s a mouthful, why not go by SHIELD?” I replied lazily.

“We’re working on it,” Agent Coulson replied. A pregnant silence filled the air.

“Is there something you need, Agent Coulson?” I asked tiredly.

“We need to talk,” he replied. I sighed. This night was never going to end.


	8. Behind the Iron Mask

I stopped Tony, just before we headed for the stage. The press conference was seconds away. There was something I needed to ask him and I know he knew what that was. It was the argument we always had with our eyes but never with our words.

“Look, Winifred,” Tony said sternly. He only used my full name in situations like this.

“Fred,” I corrected automatically. Subtle cues for him to chill out. Our conversations were 40% cues. Maybe. I might have just made that up.

“Fred, sorry. My identity needs to stay under wraps. The world cannot know that I am their beloved Iron Man. They have their hero out there, flying around and saving the day. I’m more than happy, hell, I feel obligated to do it. But they can’t know that the same person that invented all those weapons that destroyed their homes is now protecting them. Tony Stark and Iron Man must remain separate,” Tony insisted.

“Sure, I’ve kept bigger secrets,” I replied sarcastically.

“Good, because I was worried that this would become a nightmare if you couldn’t,” Tony said.

“I’ll do my part to keep it secret, you just do yours. Crashing into the sides of hotels isn’t the best way to maintain a secret identity. If you were unconscious that day after say… hitting the room of an investigative reporter, you’d be screwed,” I said.

“Instead I found you,” Tony said with a charming smile. I smiled back and felt a little heat rise to my cheeks.

“Will you ever reveal, though?” I asked.

“No, never,” Tony replied immediately.

“Fine,” I said. I turned away and took one step closer to the curtain.

“Fred, I would jump on a grenade for you and Pepper. You know that, right? This, all of this press stuff, this is different. Prioritize. I jump on grenades, not reporters. Well, depends on what she looks like…” he joked.

Tony walked onto the stage in a crisp business suit and designer sunglasses. I guess I expected him to dress down considering the allegations the press corps was going to throw at him. Then again, it’s Tony Stark and I have never seen him dress down for anything. The cameras started flashing and I fought to remain impassive from my seat on the stage, just left of Tony’s podium. This news conference was a long time coming.

This whole mess with Eric Savin was how we got here today. I get to sit off to the side of the podium while Tony spews some crap about a personal bodyguard that showed up and saved the day while Tony was locked safely away in his office. Right, like he would let me go do serious leg-work while he was ‘locked safely away’. The sooner this day is over, the better. I still needed to meet with Agent Coulson again since Tony kept blowing him off. Maybe over drinks. He’s kinda cute in a nondescript kind of way.

“Been a while since I was up here in front of you. Maybe I’ll do us all a favor and just stick to the cards,” Tony said to the amusement of the press. “There’s been speculation in the press that I was involved in the events that occurred at the Stark World Fund Gala…”

A blonde journalist that was at the gala raised her hand to ask a question. There was a disdainful look in her eyes. I think Tony has jumped on her a couple times before. “Sorry, Mr. Stark, do you honestly expect us to believe that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared despite the fact that you sorely despise bodyguards?” she asked.

“Yes,” Tony replied succinctly.

“And this mysterious bodyguard was somehow equipped with an undisclosed Stark high-tech powered battle suit that your partner in research and development was wielding a piece of while you were ‘locked safely away’?” she asked. I fought to appear unaffected as everyone turned their heads to look at me and the cameras went off like crazy.

“I know it’s confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I’m a superhero. I mean, let’s face it; I’m not the heroic type. A laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I’ve made, largely public. The truth is…” Tony said, trailing off. Tony briefly turned his head and gave me a brief look that I couldn’t quite decipher. His head finally turned back to the cameras.

“I am Iron Man,” Tony Stark stated. He said it on international television. I felt myself gasp, but not for the same reason that the press corps did. A deafening clamor arose and the camera flashes grew blinding.

After the camera flashes died off, Tony looked back at me and we held eye contact. He just jumped on a grenade for me. Everyone knew that I knew the identity of Iron Man so they would never leave me alone until I revealed him. Tony took the attention off me to protect me. The world had its hero, Iron Man, and it had the man underneath the mask, my hero, Tony Stark. Everything was going to change. I felt my phone buzz. I checked it and saw a text message from my ex-boyfriend and colleague, Charles Gunn. I looked up and saw him in the back of the room, giving me a small, sad wave. I wanted to run. I wanted to ask Angel for the job at Wolfram & Hart. This was getting to be too big. My little world of Tony and Pepper had just shattered. I was officially associated with a superhero.

I glanced back down at my phone and unlocked it. I opened the text message and read it over quickly. ‘Drink?’ was all it said. I replied with a single affirmation. A single letter. The letter Y because it was short for yes because my hands were shaking so badly that’s all I could type. I locked it and looked back at Tony. The big picture was weighing down heavy on me now. I couldn’t just run away. This was me now. But… a drink could help me deal for the time being.

My phone buzzed again and I glanced down at it. The name ‘N. Fury’ came up with a picture of a bald black man that definitely wasn’t Charles. He had facial hair and an eye patch over his left eye. I never entered this man into my phone. How did he get into my phone? I’m not saying this like I’m an average citizen that can be hacked. I’m Winifred Burkle. I’m on a private network that is guarded by an Artificial Intelligence. Who the hell is N. Fury?

I opened the message and read it over. It was a simple message. ‘We will talk very soon,’ it said. I deleted the message and looked over the audience to find him. Agent Coulson stood by the exit. He simply nodded at me and left the building. No drink for him now, acting that cryptic.

I slipped out the back of the building and ran straight into two people in black leather getups. Not just professionals, professional military. One of them was the N. Fury. I didn’t know who the Chinese woman was. Apparently when he said we’d talk soon, he really meant it.

“Dr. Burkle. It is a pleasure to meet you in the flesh. Normally I get Coulson’s second-hand information or his inferences. He doesn’t say much as I’m sure you know. However, the Savin incident was most revealing to who you are. You must be hungry, care to join us for some food? There is a great donut place nearby that has excellent sandwiches,” N. Fury said smoothly with a very distinct cadence. Everything felt hypnotic and commanding. Good leadership traits. I could tell this was one of those offers you can’t refuse.

“The one that says Happy Donut and has the giant facsimile of one above the shop?” I asked.

“The very same. We’ll drive,” he replied. Fury and I climbed into the back of the blacked out SUV while the Chinese woman took the wheel.

“So, is this a no names lunch? N. Fury and mystery driver?” I asked as nonchalantly as I could manage, my hand firmly in my jacket pocket.

“Would it help you let go of the Darkstone in your pocket if we introduced ourselves properly, Dr. Winifred Amelia Burkle, born in Amarillo, Texas in 1976? An acquisition of yours, by the way, I am most concerned about,” he said.

“It would, in fact. Though, I’m not necessarily holding out for the middle names,” I replied with a playful Texas twang.

“I am Director Nick Fury, head of SHIELD. This is Melinda May, right now serving as my personal protection and driver,” he replied casually.

I looked her over as we drove through Los Angeles. The way she reacted to traffic, the way her head moved ever so slightly to pick up sounds like the scraping of my nails on my slacks even after the fourth time I tested it. The… well, for lack of a scientific word, aura she put off. I know exactly why he was so comfortable.

“You have a Slayer,” I pointed out.

“I have dozens of Slayers. You know how many of them prefer SHIELD to Director Summers’ organization? We are actually in merger talks, and I’m only telling you that because it is a decent bit of insider information in the supernatural world right now,” he whispered conspiratorially.

“You should try to acquire the top leadership of Wolfram & Hart. They’re the best at what they do,” I suggested.

“You are referring to Liam Angel, William Pratt, Charles Gunn, and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce?” he asked.

“The same,” I replied.

“Agent May, would you like to handle this one?” he asked.

“Liam Angel was a part of the Strategic Scientific Reserve and under the advisement of Howard Stark and Director Margaret Carter he has been a part of SHIELD since is charter whether he is aware or not. William Pratt, until his recent ensoulment and his actions closing the Sunnydale Hellmouth, was on our targeted hostiles list due to his affiliation with HYDRA in World War II. Currently, his status is undecided pending extensive review. Charles Gunn has been on recruitment list since his days as a gang leader. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce was not on our radar until he separated from Angel Investigations and formed an effective demon hunting team of his own,” she explained in a calm monotone.

“As you can see, your compatriots have been in sights for a long time,” he replied.

“You clearly missed me,” I replied flippantly. Fury turned in his seat to face me. His one-eyed gaze was fierce and intimidating.

“There is nothing that escapes my gaze, Dr. Burkle,” he stated definitively. I nodded quickly.

“We’re here,” Agent May said in the same emotionless tone.

“Thank you, Agent May,” he replied. We exited the vehicle and walked into a completely deserted Happy Donut. I spotted agents almost out of sight around the perimeter, further emphasizing the nature of this visit. On the table at one of the booths were two sandwiches. He gestured to the booth and I slid in. He took the other side and switched the sandwiches.

“Should I be asking if one is laced with Iocaine Powder?” I asked wryly. Fury actually laughed in response.

“You do a terrific job disguising your mistrust with humor. Something that was not present in Agent May’s assessment of you at UCLA 7 years ago,” he commented. I sharply turned my head to regard her but her impassive face gave away nothing. She wouldn’t have even been a Slayer back then.

“You wanted me for my scientific prowess, I’m guessing?” I asked.

“Indeed. We noticed that you dramatically surpassed your teacher, Dr. Oliver Sidel. Your grasp and abilities were so great, we never received an accurate assessment on your capabilities from our scientific evaluators. No one could tell me just how smart you were. We also were aware of what had happened to all the other students that done the same previously, but none had reached your level,” he explained.

“Hence Agent May’s presence,” I surmised.

“Exactly. Eat up. It’s a torta. The sandwich equivalent of a taco. I don’t need to be the top spy to know how much you love those. Over half your credit card statement is from the taco stands around here,” he said around the bite of his sandwich. Looked like a hoagie or something. I took an experimental bite and found it delicious.

“I love how you’re not so sneakily dropping all these hints that you know absolutely everything about me. But back to 7 years ago, if you had an agent watching me, how’d I end up in Pylea? It’s not like you could have even predicted that I’d be rescued 5 years later,” I pointed out. Fury looked apologetically at me and May looked positively ashamed.

“We had no how he was getting rid of the smartest students. Every disappearance, including yours was reported as vanishing into thin air. We were at a loss. We were watching him every moment of the day. What we didn’t realize is that he’d let your innate curiosity spring his trap. We were focusing on the wrong person,” he replied.

“Enough about then. I’m guessing that once I got back my insanity took me off that list and being under constant guard by my new violent friends discouraged you from trying to interrogate me. The fact that I wasn’t even approached by someone means you didn’t want to reveal yourselves just yet,” I said.

“Do you remember talking to a comic book aficionado named Jared after Sidel’s attack on the stage at the symposium?” he asked. I vaguely remembered that guy. He didn’t really make any lasting… impression. Jesus, he was an agent.

“So, Agent… who?” I asked.

“I am not going divulge his real identity. The point is, he was evaluating you. His report on your attempted murder of Sidel is why we closed your recruitment file. Now, I feel for you and stand behind your intentions that day, 100%. However, we cannot have that kind of mindset in our agents. We do not do blood vendettas,” he explained.

We ate in silence for a while. Fury eventually got tired of May standing at the end of the table and made her sit down next to him. She seemed extremely unwilling to relax. Completely unlike Faith when she stayed with us at the Hyperion. Then again, that’s exactly how Faith described herself pre-prison. For someone like May to seem so centered but so agitated, something must have happened to shatter her calm. I could only hope losing me to Pylea was not it.

“So, let’s talk about Tony,” I said, popping a barbeque potato chip into my mouth. Fury exhaled loudly, clearly perplexed by this topic.

“'I am Iron Man.' You think that he’s the only superhero in this world?” he asked.

“Of course not. I’ve saved the world more times than he has,” I replied dryly.

“You have. That’s the point. He has just become part of the bigger universe that you and I occupy. He just doesn’t know it yet,” he said.

“And where does that leave us?” I asked.

“I’m here to talk to you, and then him when you convince him to grant me an audience about the Avenger Initiative,” he stated, causally popping a chip in his mouth. All I could do was raise an eyebrow in interest and see where that conversation led.


	9. A Brighter Tomorrow

I think the talks about the Avengers Initiative had a bad effect on Tony’s mind. Made him think he wasn’t doing enough to help the world. He had the idea to bring all the world’s greatest inventors and investors to one place so we could build a better future. A Tomorrowland of sorts. Apparently my progress at STI wasn’t enough for him anymore, either. He was calling it the Stark Expo 2010 after the ones his dad threw in 1943, 1954, and 1974 in New York. This one was going to be bigger and better than the rest. It was up to Pepper and me to make it happen because I never saw Tony working on it.

I felt like beating my head against the support beam I was leaning against. The contractors were driving me nuts and I had much more important things to deal with than their ‘professional opinions’. Actually, I felt like viciously beating their heads into the support beam until it ran slick with their blood and cranial matter. I ran my hand tiredly down my face. This is the kind of thought process I have to deal with because I’m so tired. I hadn’t looked in a mirror in weeks because I was afraid to see the thick dark rings around my eyes that I was sure existed. It was three hours past quitting time and they were going against their own unions and contracts just to argue with me. I don’t know if I should be flattered or flat out infuriated. I’m infuriated. That is my choice and I am so close to letting them feel my wrath. Being a demon hunter means your neurochemistry naturally leans to decapitation and things like that after a while. Being corporate officer for a major company means you can’t indulge those thoughts. I’m torn between what I want and what I need.

“With all due respect, ma’am, I’ve been in this business for thirty years,” the lead contractor said with that airy tone I get from men who think they know better. That’s it. I’ve had it! I’m done with this shit! I have not survived all the traumas and tribulations of my life to listen to this shit for the hours! I want to go home. I want to sleep! I. Am. Done.

“Why is it that when someone says ‘with all due respect’ to me it really means ‘kiss my ass?’” I snapped at him. For once he kept his mouth shut. “I don’t give a damn about your professional opinion. You’re here to answer to mine. I’ve designed deep sea research facilities that withstand the most severe plate tectonics at the deepest depths this planet has to offer. People are alive and well in the Mariana Trench today because of me. So when I tell you that you can’t substitute my specifically designed titanium-carbide alloy for industry standard steel, I have a goddamn good reason for it. Iron Man is going to be falling out of the sky at 9.81 meters per second per second and then impact with a solid 2000+ pounds of metal. Tell me something, whose opinion holds more weight here? Follow the plans exactly or any failings and fatalities are on your head and we will make you suffer for them,” I said harshly.

The men clammed up and nodded sharply before heading for their vehicles. I shook my head and sat back down at the makeshift desk they put together for me. Two sawhorses and a slab a dry wall. I felt very loved as the resident ‘squint babe’. It was either that or ‘queen bitch’ from them. The basic framework for the stage overhang was already in place and that only took a mild bit of fury. I wanted to hit it with all my rage but it’s just drywall. I’d punch right through it and break my desk. I needed sleep so badly or I will become even more of a psycho.

This was the site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic games. I did a lot of research into both games and even though the 1932 games were pretty much a flop, I reveled in the majesty of the 1984 games. I used that in all my designs and planning, wanting to pay tribute to the history of the area while leading the world into the future. All part of Tony’s idea for the Expo.

I needed to get out of here. What started at love and adoration for this site has turned to hatred and spite. I packed up my desk as quickly as I could and high-tailed it back home. I’m sure I shattered a few speed laws on the way home. But what do you expect driving a bright blue Maserati to work? I parked in the lab in the fleet of Tony’s cars and immediately got back to work. I had an endless work load to deal with and a rage problem that was building. Seven hours later and I was still working.

Two of my helper robots held the mechanical arm in place while I bolted down the connections for the final arm. I unbundled the cabling and fed it into the power supply. The arm let out a 60-cycle hum and I smacked it upside its casing. The humming stopped. Violence can solve problems.

“JARVIS, run the disassembly diagnostic test,” I said wearily.

“Yes, ma’am,” JARVIS said. His voice carried a soft quality to it like he was respecting how strung out I was. I appreciated it. The three mechanical arms started moving in pre-scripted motions over a non-existent body. The machine noise was nearly deafening beside it. Two of the arms collided and ground the process to a halt. I cursed to myself and brought up the movement algorithms in front of me. I ran my hand through the holographic display until I found the command lines that botched everything.

“This is big, isn’t it?” I rhetorically asked.

“Alterations within that subsection will require rewrite on all subsequent commands,” JARVIS said. I crumbled up the electronic data sheet and tossed it to the ‘recycling bin’ on the far wall. It dinged once for the point I scored. Normally all the bells and whistles with the enhanced holographic display entertained me. Childish was the word that came to mind then.

“What time is it?” I asked JARVIS.

“Three in the morning, which begs the question: what are you still doing working?” Tony asked as he entered the lab. I glowered at him. I wasn’t sure of my own name I was so tired.

“Greetings, Mr. Stark,” JARVIS said.

“Working on your Expo if you didn’t notice,” I said coldly.

“You need to take some time off,” Tony said soothingly, placing his hands on my shoulders. I shrugged them off like the disgruntled employee I was.

“I can’t take time off, Tony! You have me managing and designing the entire creation process of the Expo! That’s close to a square mile of pavilions and exhibits and taco stands! On top of that, I have the regular advancement and prototype development for the Mark V emergency armor. On top of that, I still have the other green technology projects and development for STI! When do I have time off, Tony?” I asked in exasperation.

“Taco stands?” Tony asked bemusedly. I wasn’t in the mood and I smacked him in the chest for his jokes. He winced and grabbed where I hit. I pretended not to care.

“If you want to make jokes, go call up James. I’m busing making your dreams a reality,” I told him.

“The Expo is extremely important. It represents everything we are leaving behind for our children and grandchildren. The Expo is about making a better tomorrow,” Tony said defensively.

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him. I opened up a new programming file and started to work. “Save the public relations crap for the press. This is your ego gone mad,” I retorted.

“This isn’t about me,” he insisted.

“I want you to tell me that this isn’t about the fact that you’re dying from the palladium reactor in your chest,” I said without looking back at him. Tony didn’t respond for a long time.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done. I’m not just talking about STI or even me. Well, yes, everything you’ve done for me. What a mean to say, if I’m saying anything at all, is thank you for being here for Pepper and for me. I don’t think we could have endured everything from the past year without you,” Tony said. I stayed still, letting the rare moment of affection and praise sink in. He patted me on the shoulder one more time and I took his hand in both of mine.

“I’ve got some free time for one more project if you like. Maybe finding that elusive element to replace the palladium core?” I offered. I glanced at him over my shoulder. He gave me his tight lipped, thin smile that was more demeaning that happy.

“Get some sleep,” he said before pulling his hand away and turning to leave. Gentle smiles and love and affection evaporated was he walked away. Rage it was. Again. A panel opened up in front of me. JARVIS was showing me my vital statistics. All of them. I could see the amount of stress I was under and how it was affecting my brain chemistry, my blood pressure, and muscle function. I was a wreck. I, a calmly as I could to show JARVIS I wasn’t mad at him, closed the panel and got back to work.

The Iron Man work log from the previous day showed alterations to the biometric scanning systems of the suits and that made me nervous. The biometric scanners, when working properly, were an infallible safety measure to protect the suit against theft. If you weren’t on the clear-to-fly list, you couldn’t take off. Tony called me paranoid but I wasn’t taking any chances with that suit.

“Tony? Did you mess with the biometric scanners while you were working last night?” I called out across the lab. His head popped up from behind one of his many sports cars.

“Yeah, I did, why?” he asked. I frowned. This palladium issue was getting crazy. What was one of the signs someone is dying? Giving away their stuff. I flicked through the changes and I saw that the allowed users extended from just Tony to include Pepper, James and me.

“Is there something you’d like to tell me?” I asked patiently.

“Why would I? You have working eyes and you’ve got it in front of you,” he replied derisively.

“Tony,” I said imploringly. Why wouldn’t he just open up and talk to me. It’s like he forgot the ‘partner’ part of R&D partner.

“Fred, I’m fine. Drop it,” he said. I frowned and turned back to my work. It looked like I was going to be working to sun-up again.


	10. Needing Relief

I plopped down on the couch and unceremoniously lay my head in Pepper’s lap. She tried to shoo me away but I shook my head defiantly. Pepper seemed to give up after that and just keep working.

“You’re dressed nice for someone run ragged,” she commented.

“I’m taking the night off,” I said tiredly.

“Did you tell Tony?” she asked. My response was far less than lady-like about where Tony could shove it. Pepper raised a bemused eyebrow at me. “Excuse me? Did our sweet Winifred really just say that?” Pepper asked with a small laugh.

“Look, I’ve had it up to here with his damn expo. You would not believe what I have to go through every day for this madness,” I shot back.

“What you have to go through? How do you think I feel! I have to manage and orchestrate this monstrosity while keeping STI from collapsing!” Pepper exclaimed.

“I dare you to spend just one day with the brain dead engineers and construction crews over at the Expo. Then tell me if your problems are so bad,” I said.

“No, no. Engineers and contractors are nothing compared to corporate suits that are circling Tony like sharks in the water. I deserve a medal for dealing with them,” Pepper said.

“I’d take suits over hardhats any day. I am so sick and tired of these steroid inflated jerks undermining me and treating me like the little girl that doesn’t know what she’s talking about!” I griped.

“I have to deal with that, too! How do you think the suits treat me? I’m just Tony’s secretary to them. I know exactly what I’m doing and they’re going to realize that whether they like it or not,” Pepper stated.

“Why not get Tony to force them in line?” I asked.

“Don’t even get me started on him! I swear to god, ever since he declared himself as Iron Man he’s neglected everything except that suit!” she complained.

“Don’t forget the Expo,” I said with a humorless laugh. Pepper swore under her breath.

“How could I forget? Every time I try to talk to him, all he does is redirect every issue I have to focus on the Expo,” she said.

“I know, it’s almost as if he doesn’t realize the strain he’s put on both of us. Just last night, I think it was last night, I’m not sure. I have no concept of the movement of time anymore. Sometime recently, I had to work until six in the morning and he had the audacity to tell me to take some time off,” I said.

“God, I’m gonna kill him,” she said.

“I’m just sad when I think of him now,” I said without thinking.

“What? Why?” Pepper asked.

“Well, it’s just… he’s run himself ragged worse than us. The crazy’s setting into his head with the whole Expo thing and the better tomorrow. I can’t help but feel sad about it. It’s like everything I’ve read about Howard Hughes,” I said quickly, to cover up the whole dying issue with Pepper. If she never knew about it, I could die happy. Delusional hope, but it was my only hope.

“He’ll be fine,” she said assuredly.

“I guess. I tried to reach out and help him, ‘cause I know what that feels like but he just gave me that tight lipped smile and brushed me off,” I said.

“I know the one,” she replied.

“It’s like, we’re a family until he wants to extricate himself from us. He’s a real hard man to love,” I commented, again shoving my foot in my mouth. I need sleep. What is wrong with me?

“What was that?” Pepper asked with a surprised but amused look on her face. I turned my head away so she couldn’t see the furious blush working its way through my cheeks. However, my head being in her lap meant she could easily make me look at her again.

“You know what I mean. We both love him! He’s family to us, closer than blood. It’s not like I’m itching to go sleep with him,” I replied quickly.

“No, you’ve already done that,” Pepper said cheekily.

“Like you haven’t. I still remember that initial interview where you blushed faintly upon saying that no woman could resist him,” I shot back. Pepper gaped and swatted me lightly. I laughed for the first time in a long while and it felt good.

“Are we fighting over Tony Stark?” she asked. I shook my head.

“You’re way head over heels in love in love with him. I’m just the eye candy that both of you enjoy staring at,” I replied with a devilish smirk. I could see the wheels rapidly turning in Pepper’s head for an appropriate comeback or even a denial but nothing came. My smirk turned into a triumphant grin.

“So, anyways. Who’s taking you out tonight? That ex-boyfriend of yours that you met up with after the infamous press conference?” she asked slyly.

“No! Well, yes, but not like what you’re implying. My old co-workers from my PI days are picking me up for dinner. I kinda griped at them about not getting time away so they’re rescuing me for the night,” I explained.

Tony entered the living room with a frown. “I was hoping to treat my lovely ladies to a nice dinner out tonight,” he said. I sat up from Pepper’s lap and smile sadly at him.

“You should have mentioned it sooner,” I replied.

“A missed opportunity. I trust you’ll have a good time and stay safe?” he asked.

I rolled my eyes. “I’m going out with two vampires, a gang leader, and a rogue demon hunter. What part of that doesn’t sound safe?” I said with a smirk.

“All of it,” Pepper said seriously.

“I’ll be fine; they won’t let anything happen to me. They’re my boys,” I replied.

“They better,” Tony said. Pepper shared the same hard, determined look. I smiled at their over-protectiveness of me. Wes, Gunn, and Angel might be my boys, but Tony and Pepper were something else. Something a lot more important to me right now.

“Dr. Burkle, the 1967 Plymouth Fury 3 registered to Liam Angel has arrived in the driveway,” JARVIS said.

“Thank you, JARVIS. I will be right out,” I replied. I gave Tony and Pepper one more smile before ending our unusually intimate moment. I slipped out the front door and saw my four boys waiting patiently in Angel’s convertible. I ran over and vaulted into the back between Spike and a Charles.

“’Lo, pet,” Spike greeted.

“Spike! Guys! I am so happy to see you guys. I need an absolute getaway from this Expo nonsense,” I told them. Angel put the car in gear and pulled away from the Villa.

“Well, we’re here to do just that for you, girl. Name the destination and we’ll get you there,” Charles said.

“Vegas,” I said in all seriousness.

“Really? Vegas?” Angel asked.

“Yes. It’s a hell of a drive and it’d be fun enjoying it without being hunted by mobsters and bein’ painted all green,” I replied with a small laugh.

“Then as our lady requests, we shall deliver, right?” Wesley asked him.

“Viva Las Vegas,” Angel said with a shrug.

“Hey, where’s Lorne? I was hoping to see him!” I said.

“Vegas,” they all replied in unison.

“What? Really?” I asked. It was déjà vu.

“Bloke’s got himself set up with a show at the MGM Grand. That’s why we were surprised when you suggested Vegas,” Spike explained.

“As long as I’m not in the show again, I’m all for it! Let’s go see him!” I exclaimed.

“You already convinced me,” Angel said as he pulled off onto the main road.

“Viva Las Vegas!” Charles sang out badly.

“Oh, bloody ‘ell,” Spike griped.


	11. On Edge

My parents had just left to head back home to Texas. I smiled and waved as they drove away in their beat up old pickup truck from the castle I lived in. Tony leaned against the door frame with a wave.

“I think they’re expecting us to get married and make lots of genius babies together,” Tony said offhandedly. I gently smacked him on the shoulder with the back of my hand.

“They’re good parents. They only want what they think is best for me: a good man in my life and a place to settle down and raise a family,” I said.

“Is that what parents want? I never got that,” he said.

“Why? What was your dad like?” I asked.

“Pretty much the opposite of your father,” he said.

“Mean and abusive?”

“No, okay. Find the midpoint between those, then. He was cold and stand-offish. Like he had no idea how to even talk to me. I don’t think I ever heard him say he loved me or even that he liked me.”

“I’m sure he did, he was your father. How could he not be proud of you?”

“Well, I never got to find out. He and my mother died in a car accident when I was young. After that it was boarding school for the obscenely rich kid,” Tony said.

“I’m sorry. I think everyone would do better if they had parents like mine. Love and support can work wonders,” I said.

“Is that why you rebelled in college and became a pot head?” Tony asked with a grin.

“That was a long time ago and a completely different life,” I said.

“You turned out alright,” Tony said.

“Thanks to Angel,” I replied.

“No, he may have rescued you from that dimension, but it was you that made yourself into what and where you are now,” he said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“People like us should always remember that. We have sole responsibility for our actions and the repercussions that come with,” he said.

“Don’t I know it,” I said.

“Aren’t you meeting up with Rhodey today?” he asked.

“Yeah, I need to get going. I’ll try not to pass my parents on the way over to the Hyperion,” I said good-natured. The drive only takes me twenty minutes anyway. I’d be there with a taco from my favorite stand before I knew it.

I sat down in the courtyard of the Hyperion Hotel and took a bite of my taco stand taco. Before I knew it, too! The stand just a few blocks from here made the best tacos in Los Angeles. I glanced at my phone and gave James five minutes before I called him late. We were so very close to opening night of the Expo that I reluctantly agreed to meet up with him today.

The Hyperion seemed so lonely these days. Ever since we all left it’s like this big, momentous part of our lives went ignored. I gave the bench an affectionate rub to show I hadn’t forgotten everything the building had done for us for those years.

“Fred, you’re here,” James Rhodes said as he entered the courtyard. I smiled at him and waved him over.

“You’re late, Lt. Colonel. I don’t believe that’s a good trait for a military officer to have,” I said cheekily.

James looked appalled at my comment and that made me laugh. “I am not late,” he said indignantly.

“Later than I hoped. I’m a very busy woman these days, James,” I said, taking another bite of my taco.

“The United States government wants Tony’s suits,” he said. I grimaced and swallowed down the bite.

“Over my dead body,” I replied coldly.

“I’m being serious, Fred,” he said.

“So am I. In my opinion, those new suits are as much mine as they are his. If the government wants them, they have to go through me. What did Tony say about this?” I demanded.

“I can’t have a single damn conversation with him. Everything he says is a kiss off. Am I out of the trust circle now or something?” he asked.

“No, you’re not. He’s doing the same to me and Pepper as well,” I said.

“Well that’s good,” he replied. I raised an eyebrow at him and he immediately backtracked. “I don’t mean it’s good that he’s blowing you two off, just I’m glad that it’s not just me,” he said.

“Pepper and I trust you, James; as does Tony,” I told him.

“You have an inside look at his head or something?” he asked.z

“Something like that,” I replied.

“So, what did your parents think of this whole operation?” James asked. I laughed to myself at that.

“I’m sure of two things, now. My parents had no idea just how smart I am and they hadn’t realized just how famous I am, either. The looks on their faces for all the awards and recognitions that have my name on it…” I said humorously.

“How could anyone fully grasp any of this if they aren’t in the middle of it? I’m not sure I even grasp just how big this is,” he said.

“It’s the other way around. We don’t realize it ‘cause we’re at the center. We’re in the eye of the storm while everyone else seems to be affected by it,” I said.

“I guess so, but say we’re both right. Wouldn’t that mean that no one fully grasps the importance of all of this?” he asked.

“Leave that to the history books,” I said.

“Did they like the tour of Casa de Stark?” he asked.

“They said it was a definite step up from this place,” I replied, gesturing over my shoulder to the Hyperion.

“And they’re okay with you essentially being a superhero’s tech support?”

“Last time they visited, they came right here to the Hyperion. A lot of things happened, but the big thing was the very big praying mantis demon that tried to kill us all at the bus stop. It was only looking for the severed head of a demon Angel killed earlier that morning. Turns out the head had the insect demon’s egg babies laid in it. Which explained why the demon attacked us that morning in the first place. Wouldn’t you be more than a little crazy if you had demon eggs in your head?” I asked with a laugh. James looked at me blankly and I huffed.

“No one thought that was funny the first time round, which kinda made sense since we had just dealt with the whole hive attacking the hotel here and maybe that was why it wasn’t funny then. My parents took it all in stride and were quite proud of me as parents should be of their kids, so of course they were okay with me being a superhero’s tech support,” I said with a grin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed one of those myself. Pepper warned me that it could happen, but seeing it in person is something else entirely,” James said.

I looked at him confusedly. “A Durslar demon with another demon’s babies in its head?” I asked. He smiled at me and I knew he was making fun of me. Damnit. I really need to pay more attention to that kind of thing.

“No, the insane amount of words that just came out of your mouth. I don’t understand how you were even able to talk that fast or that much just to say ‘they’re cool with it’,” he said with a smile. I felt myself blush furiously at his teasing and pointedly looked away from him.

“Fine, that’ll show me to share a touching moment of mine with you ever again,” I said.

James laughed heartily. “That was a touching moment? Decapitated demon heads with demon eggs and a hive trying to kill you? What do you call moments where your mom or dad is simply hugging you? Or when you and Pepper have your movie nights that Tony gripes about?” he asked.

“Private,” I replied sternly.

“Alright, message received,” he said in surrender.

“Good, cause I’d hate to be mad at a close friend for any longer than I have to,” I said, getting back to eating my food.

“You know, I think Tony’s actually jealous over the time that you and Pepper spend together,” he mentioned.

“What? Why?” I asked.

“C’mon, don’t tell me you never glance at the tabloids,” he said.

“Why would I? Crap rots your brain. If I’m gonna destroy my brain cells, it’ll be because of a backfiring experiment, not some trashy piece of garbage,” I said dismissively. Curiosity then welled up in me so much I had to look back at him and ask. “Why, what do they say?”

James snorted a laugh. “Depends on the day. Some say you and Tony are in the middle of a whirlwind romance and a bitter Pepper is vowing revenge. Others say that Tony and Pepper are secretly married and you’re Tony’s on the side mistress. I’ve also seen that Tony’s on the back burner to the torrid lesbian romance between you and Pepper. But the best of them all, in my opinion, say that the rich playboy, Tony Stark, has two girlfriends to please him whenever he wants,” he said.

I was torn between laughter and feeling ill. “I’m sorry I asked,” I said.

“Don’t think too much on it and you’ll be okay,” he said.

“It’s nice to take a moment like this,” I said.

“I’m just waiting for us to hit the five year mark. Once that happens, the world will get bored of Tony Stark’s public escapades and we can all just focus on making the planet a safer place to live,” he remarked.

My mind went back to biometric scanners again and the fact that Tony was dying. Five years was impossible. I’d give him less than six months if we couldn’t fix that problem. “Hey, James? I got something you should know,” I said nervously.

“What is it?”

I paused, not wanting to betray Tony’s trust but feeling that he really should know about his new-found-clearance to use the suit. “I’ve made some adjustments to the biometric protocols in the suits. You’re cleared to use them in case of emergency. Let’s face it, if something happens to Tony, Iron Man can’t go down with him,” I said. It was a lie, but only partially. A very necessary one at that.

“I can’t imagine Tony’s cool with that,” James said.

“He is, I ran it by him,” I lied.

“If I asked you if he was okay, would you tell me the truth?” he asked.

“He’s fine, you know how he is,” I replied swiftly.

“I do know how he is. This happened before you got here, but I remember how he was acting after we rescued him in Afghanistan. Guy was a wreck. I’m seeing the same signs all over again. I need you to take care of him, Fred,” he said.

“No. That’s not my job and I can’t handle that on top of everything else. You check up on him and make sure he’s doing okay,” I told him.

“So, what is it, you tell me that ‘just in case’ I’m the next Iron Man and I have to babysit the current one while I’m at it?” he asked.

“Who else would take his place if that nightmare came to pass?” I asked.

“How about you?” he asked.

“What? Me? I’m not the hero type,” I said.

“I remember the sight of Winifred Burkle running into the Stark World Gala with a magic stone in her hand, facing off against a madman. Everything I see with you, says different. You’re just as much the champion type as Tony. In fact, you didn’t need your own Afghanistan to make you into one,” he said.

How entirely wrong he was. Not that he knew about Pylea. I kept that knowledge as secret as I could. Sure, SHIELD knew about it, but that was beyond my control. The only people I’ve ever talked about it with were Angel and the gang, Tony, and Pepper. It really wasn’t something you just bring up in conversation. Hey, remember that time when I was missing for five years and lived in the most beautiful torturous hellscape? Wasn’t that fun? Wasn’t just peachy what I had to do to survive and the shear amount of blood on my hands to do it? I never have nightmares about the innocent slaves I had to sacrifice to get by, right?

My silence rose to a deafening level, making James uncomfortable. He rose to his feet and patted me on the shoulder. “I gotta get back to it. You enjoy the rest of your day off. I have a bad feeling we’re not going to see many more soon enough,” he said.

“Why’s that?” I asked.

James pulled a white envelope from his jacket and handed it to me. “The real reason why I wanted us to meet up. You’ve been subpoenaed to testify at the Senate Arms Services Committee in Washington D.C. the morning after the Expo’s opening,” he said.

“You must be joking,” I said.

“I’ve been served, too. I’ll see you there,” he replied before walking out of the Hyperion Courtyard.

I frowned and crossed my arms in thought. This was gonna take a lot. A government official I could take care of, I think. We kept lawyers and police out of the Hyperion for the two years I was here. But this was a subpoena. Tony and I had to actually appear in front of a Congressional Committee. They wanted our suits. Our suits! If the government had access to Iron Man technology it would be worse than 1984 here. A complete police state. Of course, then there would be rival technologies and then we would have Iron Man Wars. Every soldier decked out like a weapon of mass destruction.

President Ellis favors us, I know that. I bet we could count on his support. SHIELD has influence, but I’m not sure I want to get them involved. Plus, I don’t know how badly Tony burned that bridge. Phil never even tries to speak with him, just Pepper and myself. I guess the way to solve this is legally. Funny, I’ve never actually considered the legal approach. Especially since Wolfram & Hart antagonized me and mine for far too long. Maybe I could contact Charles. He’s Angel’s top lawyer. I would have the best there was to offer.

However, they’re still Wolfram & Hart. I could trust my boys with my life. The Senior Partners? Never. Not with anything. Especially legal aid. That means I have to contact STI’s lawyers instead. Not that they aren’t good or anything. It’s just… I’ve never approached them before. Never thought to. Always considered their job to be babysitting Tony. I took out my phone and hit speed dial for Pepper. True to form, she answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Fred. What can do for you?” she answered idly. Probably working on a dozen different projects for the Expo.

“I need the name of our best lawyer down in Legal,” I said.

“What did you do?” she asked. Well, demanded. It was a tone usually reserved for Tony.

“Tony and I are subpoenaed to appear in front of a Congressional Committee the day after the Expo opens. I need to speak with our best lawyer,” I replied.

“Let’s see… ah. She’s a recent hire but you don’t get better than her. Natalie Rushman. Go see her and bring the subpoena,” she said.

“I’ll do one better. It looks like the Lt. Colonel gave me all their questions and talking points too,” I said.

“Perfect. I will visit her today before end of day to tell her your dropping by tomorrow?” she offered.

“Absolutely. Thank you, Pepper,” I said warmly. I could feel her glowing smile on the other end.

“I see you when I get home,” she said before ending the call. God, maybe it would be nice to be in some kind of crazy relationship with her and Tony. Then I would have someone to curl up with after crappy days like these. It’s not going to be like I’m gonna meet anyone special anytime soon. It’s gonna be a long month ahead of us. Finishing up the Expo, launching the Expo, testifying before Congress, curing Tony’s Palladium problem, and saving the world like usual. Romance can wait. Long. Month.


	12. The Spider's Web

Legal was a new place to me. Everything was all wood paneled and fancy looking. Nothing like the post-modern look the rest of STI had. All of the offices of major lawyers had large oak doors and embossed name plates. New person, brand new door. It’s a symbolism thing that Tony has throughout the company. I remember my new door. Not wood and lacks a conventional handle but I still think it’s real pretty. Pepper hired Natalie Rushman after Tony went public as Iron Man. She had a shiny new name plate on her door but the handle was rubbed down a little. Apparently, Ms. Rushman was popular. I knocked on the door and waited.

“It’s open,” she called out in a husky attractive voice. I opened it up and saw her behind the desk. To avoid sounding infatuated, I will keep it simple. She was extraordinarily pretty with dark red hair and bright blue eyes. It was no wonder she was popular. To think more on just how devastatingly attractive she is would be admitting to forgetting why I was there the moment I stepped inside. “Dr. Burkle, I was told you might be dropping by today,” she said cordially but still formally. She was the essence of professionalism. Like naughty librarian or something. I thought that was me! She bumped me down to nerdy librarian.

“I need your help concerning the senate hearing,” I said, taking a seat in front of her desk.

“Alright, how can I help you?” she asked.

“Bluntly? I want to tie the US Government up in such a legal mine field that they’ll never get out safely,” I told her coldly.

Natalie chuckled to herself. “So, I was remiss in hoping that it’d take a few minutes?” she asked.

“The government seems to think it has the right to put its greedy hands on mine and Tony’s property. I will not have some greasy senators using our equipment for military dominance,” I said.

“I don’t think it’d ever get to that point. From what I’ve seen, any technology of this nature, SHIELD tends to confiscate it from the military for the same reason you’re concerned about,”

“Because I so want SHIELD to have Iron Man tech. That is nightmare scenario number two. Can you help me, or not, Ms. Rushman?” I asked calmly.

“Yes, I believe I can. We’d have to know what they are after ahead of time for it to be the most effective,” she said.

I handed her the papers James gave me along with the subpoena. “Done,” I said.

“Then we can get to work,” Natalie said. She immediately started typing. I mean immediately. Like her legal brain worked as fast as my scientific one.

“Should I be worried about tomorrow?” I asked tentatively. She glanced up at the papers for just a second to regard me.

“No. From what I gather you have a distinct discomfort with public speaking which the Committee will prey upon. They will view you as weak. However, unlike others that are uncomfortable with public speaking because they are weak underneath, you are exceptionally strong. Your discomfort comes out of a social disdain for appearing too brainy. That is exactly what you will need tomorrow. They will try to walk over you and you will crush them with your knowledge of Iron Man technology and the carefully worded answers I will give you. That being said, you have a tendency to become an attack dog when you feel slighted and overlooked, and that will bring you trouble. You will need to keep that in check because when testifying before a Senate committee since they hold the power. The moment they feel you are disrespecting them they will cut you off and not let you speak again. If that happens you could lose everything. In conclusion, if you start as you would normally and then come out firmly but respectfully they will find themselves unable to challenge you,” she explained quickly.

“You… you just know all that about me?” I asked with a faint blush creeping into my cheeks. The printer behind her went off and I jumped a little. I felt really out of place here but I really wanted to feel more comfortable with her. Around her! I mean… damn, there’s no way to make that not sound like a crush.

“I’m a lawyer. It’s my job to read people. Here are the proper answers to the first page of questions,” she said casually, handing me the paper. I took a glance at them and realized that it was in Legalese. The language of lawyers. Just what I needed. I can’t read it but I can speak it if I study first. What I wouldn’t give for Aramaic or Sumerian or just plain old Latin. My Babylonian is rusty and my Assyrian is downright faulty. But this... this was in the unintelligible language I needed right now.

“You did this while you were talking to me?” I asked.

“I’m very good at multitasking,” she replied, already typing again.

“How do you suggest I contain Tony Stark in the hearing?” I asked.

“Chloroform, duct tape, and braided rope. Leave him in the car,” she replied dryly. I stifled a laugh behind my hand at that. It was like she could see into my mind.

“Taken under consideration. I do need a serious answer though,” I clarified.

“In that case, I suggest you make it clear that you are in control. He appears to listen to you and follow your lead when you are clearly prepared for the situation. With that being said, I’d like to point out that I was asked to join Stark Technologies and Innovations. That means being hired onto the company with the worst behaved CEO of our times. Studying him is truly a part of my job because I have to anticipate his movements some times,” she said.

“I feel like I have the same job, then,” I replied dryly.

“I would assume yours is far more difficult as you have to live with him at the end of the day,” she added.

“Yes, you can get furious at the work he’s putting you through, but you don’t live a hall over from him. I have try not to throw my breakfast at him the next day,” I commented grumpily.

“If you’re planning physical harm to the CEO of Stark Technologies and Innovations, I highly suggest you do not tell me about it. I am under contract to report threats against his health to COO Virginia Potts,” she informed me tongue-in-cheek.

“And… what if it came from the… uh, what is my C-level ranking here?” I asked.

“Chief Technologies Officer, Dr. Burkle,” she informed me.

“Ah, yes. CTO Burkle. I hate the title. Please, call me Fred,” I insisted. The mortifying horror of what I just said would dawn on me only a few seconds later and tragically only after she called me on the carpet.

“Did you just use one of Tony’s known and publicly recorded pickup lines on me?” she asked bemusedly as she handed me the second page.

That was an actual recorded pickup line of his. It was all over TMZ for weeks. Tony Stark picking up that blonde reporter from the press conference. And I just used it on our startlingly hot lawyer. I groaned and planted my forehead on the desk.

“I didn’t mean for it to sound that way, Ms. Rushman. I have never been this exhausted in my life. Words can just… come out… please don’t file a complaint with HR,” I apologized sincerely, my Texan twang coming back in full force. She laughed lightly and went back to typing.

“Please, call me Natalie. I apologize for embarrassing you, Fred. I needed to know how you reacted when you’re embarrassed,” she admitted.

“Not well, as you can see,” I replied dryly.

“Indeed. Tomorrow, if anything of your past is dredged up that would embarrass you, I suggest the sit and simmer approach rather than the meek apology,” she suggested.

“I’ll do that. Any other tips?” I asked.

“Senate Arms Committee is chaired by Senator Stern. A know-nothing if I’ve ever seen one. Expect him to be a sanctimonious windbag,” she replied distastefully.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“Don’t lose your temper and don’t let them under your skin. Here’s the last page,” she said and handed it to me.

“Only three pages?” I asked.

“These are your talking points to directly address the expected questions. I’ll send you a packet to submit to the committee that will cover everything else. You see, these hearings are settled in the paperwork unless something major happens in the room. You’re there to present an attractive, intelligent face to my carefully worded answers in a way I never could,” she said.

“Either you’re blatantly flirting with me now or you’re openly delusional about our appearances,” I remarked.

“Well now, I guess you’ll have to come back to visit me again,” she replied with a playful wink. I laughed heartily and blew her a kiss as I walked. I would definitely have to visit her first after the hearing. Y’know, barring something happening at the hearing. Nothing was going to happen at the hearing, right? It was all going to go exactly as we planned… right?

Murphy, you and your laws stay the hell out of this.


	13. Sound and Fury

The hearing, which started at nine in the morning, had lasted six hours. I only had to refer to my notes every thirty minutes now. It was bothersome and tiresome. I really started to hate Senator Stern by noon when he forbade us from adjourning for lunch. His sparkling personality didn’t help either.

“Mister Stark, if you’d please pay attention,” Senator Stern said tiredly.

That was my other intense problem of the day. Tony finally turned his attention and flirting from Pepper and back to the hearing. “Yes, dear,” he said. I glared hotly at him and his antics. I was starting to hate Tony, too.

“Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?” Stern asked.

“Senator, if I may,” I started to say.

“No, Miss Burkle, you may not. I’m asking Mister Stark here, not you and your carefully crafted legal documents,” he replied coldly.

“It’s okay, Fred. He’s just miffed that you’ve been verbally spanking him all day. Odd, I thought Senators enjoyed being spanked,” Tony mused loudly, drawing laughter from the crowd.

“Tony!” James and I hissed out.

“What?” he asked innocently.

“Mister Stark! Answer the question,” Stern said.

“Which one?” he responded.

“Do you, in fact, possess a specialized weapon?” Stern demanded.

“No, I don’t,” he said.

“The Iron Man weapon,” Stern clarified.

“My device does not fit that description,” he replied.

“Then describe it,” Stern said.

“It’s a, hm, enhanced prosthesis?” he said, drawing huge laughs from the crowd.

“The Iron Man suit cannot be classified as a weapon because,” I tried to start saying.

“Miss Burkle! That is enough from you!” Stern said loudly. I grimaced and took a sip of my water. Tony looked at me with a protective gleam in his eyes before turning back to the Senator.

“Actually, before you interrupted one of the two leading experts on the suit in this room and, to press a point, the smartest person in this room, she was going to say that the Iron Man suit is not a weapon because its inherent abilities are not weapon based. It can fly, it amplifies physical capability, it provides environmental and ballistics protection, and currently is almost zero gravity and vacuum rated. We’re just about there. So close that you can almost not feel the life being sucked out of you into the void. Weapon systems can be built into the suit, but it isn’t a weapon itself. All built-in weapons are therefore judged individually and STI has all the required permissions to have and use them,” Tony said in the most serious tone he’d taken yet at this hearing.

“Well, I’m no expert on weapons, Mister Stark,” Stern started to say.

“Then why are you on the Senate Armed Services Committee? I must say I’m not comforted by the fact the head of the committee isn’t an expert on what he’s regulating,” Tony said bitingly. The crowd laughed but I could tell he wasn’t trying to be funny.

He was really, lovably, predictable sometimes. Someone verbally attacks him and he plays with them as he rips their reputation to shreds. He might even keep it up for weeks or months with passing comments to the press. Little shots to the tabloids while walking into a fancy restaurant with a pretty girl on his arm. But attack one of ‘his girls’ and he goes for the throat. Metaphorically speaking of course. Well, I can think of fifteen or more incidents where he would literally go for the throat.

Senator Stern bristled indignantly and didn’t reply to the barb. “I’d like to call upon Justin Hammer, our primary defense contractor,” he said. I glanced down the table to my left and saw the squirrely bespectacled man who wouldn’t stop hitting on me. I hate this guy too but that hate goes back a long way. His ego was far too big for such a level of incompetency. He hasn't changed since we were at UCLA together. I guess it a testament to his mediocrity that our physics professor only sent me to a hell dimension and not him. Professor Seidel didn’t view Hammer as a professional threat or any threat, even.

“That’s your expert?” Tony asked incredulously. The crowd laughed again. Hammer laughed loudly and falsely.

“I’m no expert, not compared to you or Winifred here. Over the last year and a half, these two have created a sword with untold capabilities but insists it’s a shield. I’m sorry that I’m not comforted by that, I really am. But how can I trust a megalomaniac playboy and a girl that nearly got thrown out of college for marijuana use to save the world?” Hammer asked. I seethed in my seat and felt James’ hand rest on mine underneath the table.

“I’d like to point out that there is not a single record of any drug related charges on my college records or any police related charges. That was base character assassination from a man who’s still spurned by the fact that he could never get more than a D+ in any physics course. Unless, of course, he bribed the professor,” I said bitingly.

Stern slammed his gavel down. “Enough! This is not a school yard. Miss Burkle, you will hold your tongue,” he said. I stared agape at the Senator.

“I have a question. Why are you after our property so badly when you have Justin Hammer working around the clock to replicate it?” Tony asked. A shocked gasp crossed the room.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mister Stark,” Stern said.

“Really? Let me enlighten you,” Tony replied. Ah, this was what he was working on when he said he was preparing for today. Corporate espionage. He pointed his smart phone at the large monitor on the side of the room and imputed a command. The screen displayed the words ‘Welcome, Mr. Stark,’ on it. “Here’s internal footage given to me by a good friend inside Hammer Industries. Is that you, Justin? Shape up, you’re on TV.”

The screen showed a knockoff prototype of an Iron Man suit with Hammer standing next to it. The man inside the suit lifted his arm and then his leg. He turned left, but when he turned right the hydraulic compensators over fired and spun his torso a full 180 degrees. The man screamed inside the suit. Normally I’d itemize injuries and brutality as I see them, but when you watch a guy’s torso do that, you don’t want to think about it at all.  Horrified gasps and sounds came from the crowd.

“Turn that off,” Stern ordered.

I stood up and straightened my blouse. My time was at hand and I was going to make Hammer pay. This wasn’t going to be from Natalie’s notes or pre-written statements. This is my own knowledge, my own words, and my own acerbic hate spewing out of me. I was going to crush this annoying shit under my own power. Ooh, I really did hate him.

“Under United States and International law, weapons testing on humans is very illegal, even on volunteers. At Stark Technologies and Innovations, only myself and Mister Stark, the creators, developers, and primary users of every piece and all Iron Man technology, test the experimental equipment and therefore remain in compliance of international and domestic law. So, either you rule that the Iron Man suit is not a weapon but an enhanced prosthesis or your primary defense contractor goes to prison for extreme ethics violations and attempted murder on that test pilot. In any case, you’ll be forced to drop Hammer Industries as your primary unless they oust him themselves. Make your choice, Senator. Iron Man is here and will remain here as long as the people of the world need him,” I said.

Thunderous applause filled the room from my little impassioned speech and the camera bulbs were flashing like crazy. It took all of my will power to not immediately shrink away. I calm sat down with steel in my spine and pride in my eyes. Hammer’s glare made me feel that much better.

“This isn’t over, Burkle. You think you’ve gotten rid of me? You’ll regret this,” he hissed under his breath at me. I gave him a long derisive look before turned back to look at Senator Stern. He had defeat written all over his face.

“I’d like to call this meeting of the Senate Arms Committee adjourned,” he said half-heartedly. James and I rose, gathered our paperwork and exited the chambers quickly. Tony played with the press. I was still absolutely infuriated even if we won. I would have had it in the bag if Tony hadn’t been screwing around.

“We won,” James insisted.

“I know,” I replied curtly.

“Winifred, we won,” he said again. I stopped and turned back to face him.

“I know. But it shouldn’t have been that hard,” I said.

“You don’t usually get this mad,” he pointed out.

“I rarely get this angry and usually I have a demon or something to slaughter with an axe to make me feel better,” I hissed.

“When’s the flight back to Malibu?” he asked as innocently as he could.

“As soon as I make the call which will be the moment I exit the capitol building,” I replied bluntly.

“What about Tony and Pepper?” he asked.

“Pepper is going with Fred. Tony is going to have to fly home using the Iron Man suit in his briefcase,” Pepper replied, falling in step with me.

“He has a suit in that ugly red briefcase?” James asked in disbelief.

“That ugly red briefcase is the suit,” I replied. He balked and scrambled for a way out of that.

“Damn, you’re good at what you do,” he said.

“No, I’m the best. Thank you for your help today, James,” I stated.

“Let’s go home,” Pepper said. I couldn’t agree more.

Things at home were as to be expected. By late that night I was more than a little drunk and Pepper was stone cold sober and furious. Pepper was fuming. I was fuming. Tony was trying really hard to look apologetic. I lifted my very alcoholic drink to my lips while glaring at him the entire time. Pepper stood and left the room.

“In my defense, I had no idea Senator Stern would go after you like that,” Tony said. I grunted in annoyance. “C’mon, I killed in there, you have to admit it,” he said.

“No, I don’t. I’m not under oath anymore,” I said spitefully.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Tony said. I reached into my purse and pulled out a folded packet of papers. I waved them at him before chucking them at him. Pages flew everywhere like a pulp based grenade. Can’t even think of how that would be useful. So not inventing it. God, annoying and useless invention. Can’t get it out of my head! Pulp grenade. Paper cuts. Concentrated storm of paper turning the victim to pulp. Damn that idea! I have had enough to drink.

“I had written responses and statements to every one of the questions they had planned to ask. They were going after our suits, Tony! I prepared perfect responses that would legally entrap them, preventing any seizure of our property, ever!” I declared.

“How in the world did you come up with those? You’re many things but a lawyer isn’t one of them,” he said.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I retorted, taking another sip of the whiskey. I grimaced at the taste. It was way too strong but I really didn’t want to remember today.

“I actually would like to know,” Tony said.

“Natalie Rushman, down in Legal. Smartest hire Pepper ever did,” I replied.

“I’ll have to go thank her,” he said.

“And tell her what, Tony? That the best laid plans tend to evaporate when your ego is bruised?” I asked snidely.

“It worked out, didn’t it?” he asked. I leveled a glare at him and took another sip of my drink.

“I can’t deal with this right now. Can you just leave me alone for now?” I asked him. Tony paused and studied me carefully. His expression softened and fell.  He finally rose and headed out of the room. I sighed sadly and hung my head. He always looked like a kicked puppy when he realized how badly or upset he made Pepper or me. “Lights: Down,” I said. I sat in darkness and just stared out the window at the Pacific Coast shoreline.

I finished my drink and stood up. Now was not the time to be brooding. I, well, no, Natalie was fielding interview requests from all of the politico talk shows as well as the entertainment talk shows for me. She forwarded them to my phone with a simple yes or no option. I wouldn’t do any, of course. I had much bigger matters at hand. One last request came in. A drink with her. Yes, no, or some other time. I couldn’t help the smile flickering at my lips as I sent back the third option with the added ‘soon’. “Lights: On. JARVIS, compile all my research data on the Palladium Core. This will be a long night,” I said.

“Right away, Ma’am. By the way, congratulations on your victory at the Senate Hearing today. It was quite inspiring to watch,” JARVIS said.

“Thank you, JARVIS,” I said.

I don’t want to say I stormed off, so I won’t. But essentially, when someone moves swiftly and furiously out of a room that’s what it’s called. I made it to the lab where all my work was waiting for me. This kind of lab work didn’t require anything physical so I stayed in my simple around the house clothing. Everything was theoretical and holographic tonight. I had work to do and I’m not sure I was sober enough to do it.


	14. Believe in Me

The screen was on across the room from where I was eating the breakfast Pepper made for me. I watched it with mild amusement for once because Stark wasn’t the headline. We were just responsible for it.

“The past few days have been rough for Hammer Industries. Justin Hammer, founder and CEO of the company, has stepped down in the aftermath of last week’s Senate Armed Services Committee meeting. Hammer was disgraced after evidence revealed that Hammer Industries used human test subjects in a failed effort to replicate the Iron Man suit. In related news, Hammer Industries has appointed Russian physicist Ivan Vanko as the Head of Research and Development,” the political news caster said.

“Nxt chnnl,” I said with my fork still in my mouth. The television clicked over to another channel.

“The United States government has confirmed that it will cancel all military contracts with Hammer Industries citing the recent scandal influencing the decision. President Ellis put out a statement today saying that the United States government does not support or condone weapon experimentation on its citizens. President Ellis openly and firmly continues to be a staunch supporter of Stark Technologies and Innovations as well as Iron Man. The statement went on to condemn the actions of Hammer Industries and promised a full and swift federal inquiry. The choice of a former Soviet physicist did not help Hammer Industries case, Capitol politcos said. It would seem Cold War tensions are still alive and well in Washington,” the pundit reported.

“Off,” I said, getting up from the table with my plate.

Tony walked into the room and I smiled at him. He stopped and studied me carefully. “You’re smiling at me,” he remarked.

“Don’t push it. I’m starting to forgive you,” I said good-naturedly.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

“I’m heading to the mall today and then meeting up with Angel tonight, as a heads-up. I don’t think you’ll see me until much later,” I said.

“Well, be good. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he said with a wry smile. I smiled back and kissed him on the cheek as I passed him. The palladium rash covered most of his neck today.

“Tony, it’s only been three days since your last lithium dioxide injection. Your rash looks like you missed the last few,” I said.

“I know. Trust me, I’ve noticed,” he said quietly.

“Then either the lithium dioxide is losing its efficacy or your condition is accelerating,” I said.

“I know,” he said again.

“You’re running out of time. I got to find something to fix you up,” I said.

“No, go to the mall and do your girly thing with the hot chick from legal. Have a relaxing night with the most terrifying vampire in history. Do anything except continue to worry about me. I’ll drive you there myself,” Tony said. How did he know about Natalie and me? Whatever.

“No,” I replied.

“Accept the offer, Fred,” he said.

“I decline,” I replied again over my shoulder as I headed back towards the lab.

“JARVIS? I need all my data on the Regeneris serum!” I called out as I hit the lab floor. I pulled on my lab coat and rushed over to my stations. As I approached, thousands of files and charts and everything I’ve ever worked on for Regeneris appeared around me. Too much, way too much. I asked for too much.

“Should I narrow down, ma’am?” JARVIS asked. He was reading all my biological data. Stress levels, tension, blood pressure, and everything else. It’s what we programmed him to do during the Extremis problem. Extremis. We have two vials of it left. That is an idea. I would need to stabilize it, permanently. No explosions, no overload.

“Um? What?” I asked.

“Shall I narrow the field?” JARVIS asked again.

“Uh, yeah. Yes. Thank you, JARVIS. Eliminate… no. Don’t eliminate. No. What do I need?” I asked the open air.

“To let my figure this out,” Tony said from across the lab.

“Tony, don’t you know anything about me by now?” I asked.

“I know a great deal about you. I know the list of your favorites. I know the lengths you will go to help the helpless. But Fred, I am not helpless in this,” he implored of me. I pushed aside some of the holographic screens to see him. He was in his tank top and I could see the damage the palladium was doing to him. He looked like a dying man to me and I loved this man too much to let him die.

“You’re not helpless, Tony, but this is and always will be my strength and your weakness. Biochemistry is not your best subject. You know this. What I have around me, all of this data, helped me create a serum to heal wounds faster than magic can. I beat magic in cellular regeneration. Magic, Tony. I have the answer right here. I have worked miracles before, so let me do it one more time to save you,” I begged of him. I was actually begging. I was crying and begging for my closest friend to let me help him.

“This, right here, this was what I didn’t want. I didn’t want you to see me like this. No, moreover, and vastly more important than that, I never wanted to see you like this because of me. I watched Pepper turn into that when I was drinking too much and partying too much. I was killing myself in a whole different way. I couldn’t bear to see her breaking apart over me so I fixed me,” he explained.

Tony walked right up to me. I tried to stay focused on his eyes but I couldn’t help but focus on the damage and those blue lines. It spread to his face and affected his temples and then the corner of his eyes. I was shaking but I was still focused. I am always focused. I am always driven. I never give up. I grabbed the injector off my desk but he probably thought I was steadying myself. Instead I pressed it against his neck and twice the dose of lithium dioxide flooded his system. The lines receded immediately and he looked like Tony again.

“I will fix this. I swear to you that I will fix this. The answer is around me right now. I’m not asking for your trust because I know I have it. I’m asking for your faith,” I told him.

“I lack faith in any God, even now,” he replied.

“I know. I know the eyes of someone resigned to their own death and I’m telling you to put your faith in me. I will find the answer. I’m not asking for faith in a higher power,” I said.

“Like you have? JARVIS has caught you talking to one. I thought it was just prayer or speaking out loud to God but Cordelia isn’t a recorded name of God in in any faith. Cordelia Chase however was your friend who disappeared out of her car three years ago. So, you’re not asking me to have faith in your missing friend, but to have it in you and you’re not asking, you’re telling. Am I getting this right?” he asked.

“Yes. Believe in me, Tony. That’s all I need and I will not forsake you,” I replied.

“Okay. But for the record, I have always had faith in you from the time we met,” he said simply before leaving. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and looked around my station. I found my focus.

“JARVIS, isolate all files that pertain exclusively to Extremis and relocate them over there. Isolate all my notes and any files dealing with the biological restructuring cause by Regeneris. Move those files over here. I need everything on the interaction of palladium, lithium dioxide, and human biology on my desk. Lastly I need the models depicting the chemical structure of both Extremis and Regeneris to my right, no, my left. Right. My current right but my working left,” I said. I can beat magic with science but I still bunk up my right from my left.

“Of course, ma’am,” JARVIS replied. All the files I mentioned moved to their proper spots. That left the others.

“Archive the rest of those files into a folder accessible on my desk,” I said. The files organized themselves neatly into a pile next to my empty coffee mug.

“What of the Extremis samples?” JARVIS asked.

“Thank you for reminding me. I need one on my desk to actually work on,” I said.

“It will be there shortly,” JARVIS replied. My helper robots moved over to the vault.

“Thank you, again,” I said.

I looked at the different files and started pulling them up in front of me, highlighting segments, and separating them from the rest. Ideas were flowing freely. This was purely conceptual right now. I just kept drawing from things I’ve written or simply read and dragging them to center. That’s how I work. I assimilate all my ideas from my other works and drag them to center. Two hours went by and I found that I actually had a lot of something in front of me.

Then my phone rang and my concentration snapped like a frayed rubber band. I tapped the side of the phone and the call appeared in holographic form in front of me. Natalie was calling me. I hadn’t had time to see her face to face since the hearing. We were supposed to meet at the mall today but I stood her up. It was something of a not-date date, I believe. Though, I’m terrible at reading those signals and more than a little wary when someone as attractive as she is takes interest in me. Office romances are tricky I’ve heard. I hit the answer button.

“I’m very sorry I stood you up today, Natalie,” I used as my opener.

“So am I. But I’m actually calling on business right now,” she replied.

“Oh, what’s going on?” I asked.

“We discussed how knowing you, Tony, and Pepper is my job to protect the company legally. I am informing you now that it is also to protect you. There are whispers and signs that Justin Hammer may act against you but without any solid evidence the police are not acting. I can’t get anyone to act. That’s why I needed to tell you myself, so you’re careful,” she told me. She seemed very agitated. Also, her speech patterns changed. She’s not the only one who pays attention. I do seem hyper-aware of her.

“You started using contractions. You don’t do that,” I said.

“Fred, I’m being very serious,” she said.

“I know, as am I. I believe your whispers and I will be careful, I can assure you that. But you just changed on me. And as you say, you know me. I notice those kinds of things. When did you hear these whispers?” I asked.

“Yesterday,” she replied evenly. On guard now. Why she would have to be on guard, I didn’t know.

“Right. Thought so. Now, I’m really bad at reading some kinds of signals. But tell me, today’s failed meeting: was it because you wished to spend time with me as you implied yesterday on the phone or because of the whispers?” I asked.

See, the term whispers suggest many things. I survived in Pylea for five years because I listened to the whispers. The conversations of others. The rumors in the Resistance. So, here back on Earth, who could possibly be whispering to her? Underworld contacts, criminals, informants, government agencies? Simply put, Natalie Rushman, the beautiful woman in Legal that I had a decent sized crush on, is not the person that hears whispers. Even doing the job she described.

“Fred, please, I need you to have faith in me right now. I was going to tell you about this today when we met up but that doesn’t mean that was my only reason for wanting to see you. Please believe me. I am not lying to you right now,” she said almost desperately. The devil is always in the details and the same mind that was compiling details not a few minutes ago for some scientific miracle was compiling them the same way.

“I believe the warning, Ms. Rushman, and I thank you for bringing it to my attention. However, I am very busy working on something right now. Can we talk later?” I asked. Silence, dead silence came on the other end.

“Of course, Dr. Burkle. I’m available whenever you need me,” she said, quite resigned. The line went dead and the holographic picture of her disappeared from in front of me.

“JARVIS, you don’t do perimeter scans unless we ask, right? And we do not have a perfect CC camera system outside, right?” I asked.

“Correct on both counts, ma’am. I have forty-nine recorded instances of Mr. Stark and you stating that you would address that issue,” JARVIS replied. Yeah, I bet. That’s one of those things us crazy billionaires have to deal with. My dad had a leaky sink just like it. He didn’t fix it until the pipe burst. This pipe just burst on us.

“Run a perimeter scan, thermal imaging please. I have a hunch,” I said. A screen appeared in the middle of the room showing the entire compound from above. Our satellite network at work. The screen focused directly over us. A thermal layer was added.

“Regarding what, ma’am?” JARVIS asked.

“Natalie Rushman. See, I’ve met people like her before. I am a person like her. We present a certain face to the world but we have an amazing secret. Me? I hunt demons and vampires that try to start apocalypses. There, note the residual heat outside the garage door and on the metal?” I asked.

“It would seem someone was leaning there very recently,” JARVIS said.

“Yes, track the call back to its origin,” I said.

“The call originated from a five-meter radius as the heat signature,” JARVIS replied.

“I figured as much,” I said.

“Is there something you would like me to do?” JARVIS asked.

“No, thank you. I have to figure something out after I finish working on this project. Actually, JARVIS, I’ve isolated a great deal of data. Compile it and run it through Burkle Experimental Protocol 3-56,” I said.

The holographic screens swirled about and I watched as compounds and chemical structures altered to fit my new theories. The model flashed red and reset itself. Damn.

“I am sorry, ma’am, but the proposed alterations would prevent cellular change on a genetic level,” JARVIS said.

“Run it with Extremis. I will bet the farm that this stabilizes it,” I stated. Everything started moving again but this time with the Extremis model. The light flashed blue. Theoretical success.

“So far, the compound’s volatility seems neutralized without damaging the intended user,” JARVIS informed me.

“Show me the alterations that would occur,” I said. A screen appeared in front of me and I watched the changes take place. I typed out shorthand notes as quickly as I could as I observed this. With some basic alterations to my theories, I could create a modification to the protocol and alter the Regeneris so it will last tremendously longer in the system. A slow burn for longer use. No longer would it be only useful after the wound but it could repair the wound as it is inflicted. It would be an artificially made healing factor that would put a vampire’s to shame. Slayers wouldn’t been in mortal peril every time they patrol. I wrote up the new protocol and submitted it to testing.

I wonder if that is what Natalie is. A slayer? I have close ties to that organization, well, I had close ties. We separated a good bit when Tony came out as Iron Man for the good of all parties involved. But could they have planted a slayer in my company to look after me? They hear whispers. She said that she couldn’t get anyone to listen and already mentioned the police wouldn’t. So, who else did she try to approach with this information? She was obviously so concerned that she showed up in person. I suppose that if I had not shut her down, we’d be in here talking and I wouldn’t be guessing.

“Ma’am, the proposed protocol has passed your tests,” JARVIS said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Good. Right. Thank you,” I said, trying to get my bearings in. I took a single vial which is a single dose of Regeneris, and inserted it into the port on my console. I entered a few commands and the thick white-blue liquid drained away. I tossed the old vial into the incinerator and loaded a fresh one into the console. I watched for minutes as the theoretical protocols became reality and the vial filled up with a crystal clear blue serum. It was actually quite pretty. The blue was a deep, royal blue and I wagered that it would stain the skin just like the old one if I spilled it. I didn’t give it that chance. I didn’t want to be mostly blue. I loaded it directly into the injector.

“Ma’am, as per your own protocols. I must inform you that you have advised against the application of untested serums,” JARVIS said.

“I countermand my own advisement,” I said. I pressed it into the crook of my elbow since hitting the right place on my own neck was really tricky. I pulled the trigger and the clear blue liquid flowed seamlessly and easily into my veins. Oh, was it cold, though. I couldn’t help but shiver almost violently as it went through me. Then, I wasn’t shivering at all but I was so tired.

“Ma’am, your internal body temperature dropped approximately ten degrees Fahrenheit,” JARVIS warned. A bioscan appeared in front of me and I was displaying textbook hypothermia at eighty-seven degrees. I shook my head rapidly to try to clear it.

“JARVIS, prepare an injection of… of… predict what I’m trying to say…” I begged.

“Standard Regeneris, ma’am. Right away” JARVIS said. My console activated again and I managed to get another empty vial onto the port.

“I need to automate that,” I declared groggily.

“Do you wish to know how many recorded instances I have on file of you saying that?” JARVIS asked.

“Not right now, no,” I replied. The vial filled with that thick white-blue liquid and I fumbled it into the injector. I shot it into the same arm and felt a powerful warmth run through me. I watched my bioscan stabilize and return to normal. I dropped down into my chair and pricked my finger on the scanner and set it to read the faulty serum levels.

I checked the protocols as the scanner worked. There were temperature variance control compounds that are specific to the modified Extremis formula that somehow made their way into this Regeneris modification. That’s why I was hypothermic. It was meant to counteract the ten degree spike caused by Extremis. How in the world did I miss that? I’m far too thorough for that. Well, apparently, I am not when trying to figure the mystery that is Natalie. And so I paid for that indiscretion. The fix was easy and I soon had a better version of the one coursing through my veins in my hands.

“I project that at current rate of dissolution into your circulatory system, the modified regeneration serum would take two weeks to fully breakdown in your body,” JARVIS said. I wiped away the blood on my thumb and found no trace of the wound.

“But how will it react to the palladium in Tony’s body?” I asked.

“Unknown. I suggest you address this possibility with Mr. Stark,” JARVIS said.

“No, I can’t. I’ll leave my research and conclusions out of him with a proper vial of it. I’m not sure how I feel about this two-week lifespan,” I remarked.

“According to my calculations, the serum will not maintain the same efficacy from one moment to the next as it is in a constant state of decay of approximately 7.143% per day,” JARVIS said.

“And we still don’t know what the rate of the decay will be if its properties are put to use. Your calculations pertain only to if I do not get injured over the next two weeks,” I pointed out.

“That is correct, ma’am,” JARVIS replied.

“How much time do I have until I have to meet Angel?” I asked.

“Thirty minutes until you should leave the premises,” JARVIS said.

I slumped into my chair and spun a capped syringe of the modified regeneration serum between my fingers. The liquid was deep icy blue with the viscosity of water, unlike its original iteration. If I could make this work it would mean that no one would have to inject that slime-like white-blue concoction into their body ever again. That felt so disgusting and wrong sliding through the veins. No one should even know what it feels like to have something sliding through their veins.

“JARVIS? Why isn’t anything ever easy around here?” I asked softly.

“Because, Tony, if it were easy, the world wouldn’t need us to do it,” I heard my own voice say through the speakers.

“I probably shouldn’t argue that, should I? I’d only be arguing with myself,” I commented.

I looked around the lab at thousands of different holographic displays. “JARVIS: isolate anything that is already backed up and not in use on a current project,” I said. Only 25% of the displays were still active.  I got up and walked over to the wire frame model of the original 1974 Stark Expo. “Why do we have this out?” I asked.

“Mr. Stark seemed nostalgic when he brought it up. That was three months ago,” JARVIS replied.

I shook my head and crumpled the model in my hands. As I started to toss it into the bin, I noticed that it looked like familiar. It was the way everything was folded into itself when I balled it up. I held the model up. “This looks like an atom, doesn’t it?” I asked.

“Metaphorically speaking, ma’am?” JARVIS asked. I straightened out the model, supersized it and hung it vertically in front of me.

“No, literally. Strip it down for me. Lose the footpaths and parking lots,” I said as I analyzed it. JARVIS did as I asked and left me when the reduced model.

“Ma’am, might I suggest you save this project for later, you’re running late with your meeting with Mr. Angel,” JARVIS said.

“Fine. Bring up all footage of Howard Stark pertaining to the Stark Expo of ’74. Leave it all for Tony with my theory,” I said.

“What is your theory, ma’am?” JARVIS asked.

“That Howard Stark invented a new element and hid the designs inside the Stark Expo layout,” I replied.

“Very good, ma’am. Have a pleasant night,” JARVIS said.

“Thank you, JARVIS,” I said. I headed across the lab and decided to take the old Shelby Mustang again.

“Ma’am, I found a note to an old film that Howard Stark made. I don’t have a digital copy of it, but I know where the hard copy is in the building. It is addressed to Mr. Stark for when his is older. It is most likely as old as the original Expo model. Should I flag this for Mr. Stark as well?” JARVIS asked.

“Yes, definitely. Hopefully his dad can give him some guidance,” I said as I slid into the driver’s seat.


	15. Breakdown

I parked my car outside the Hyperion and headed into the courtyard. Angel stood up with a smile. “Fred, it’s good to see you,” he said. I hurried over and gave him a hug. He looked at me very oddly. “You smell different. Like chemicals,” he said.

“It’s good to see you, too, Angel,” I said dryly.

“Are you doing okay?” he asked. Ugh, he can never stop be my knight in black leather, can he?

“I am fine. I am merely taking a new invention out for a dry run. That’s why I smell funny, it’s in my blood. Beyond that, please, don’t mind me if I look over my shoulder for enemies,” I said.

“Right, don’t pay attention. I won’t get on that,” Angel said sarcastically.

“I think I’m friends with a slayer. Well, maybe more than friends, I don’t know. We’re in datus interruptus. But she gave me a warning that the whispers says someone is after me,” I replied.

“You think she’s a slayer?” he asked.

“Maybe. She’s got the demeanor of one, but it’s not like we tell each other everything. I’ve only known her for about a week. I get that she cares, though. The feeling’s mutual I can say. But in our world, when do we get what we want?” I asked sadly.

“It’s funny to hear Tony Stark’s right hand say that,” he said. I glared at him and I think I was crying a little because he immediately backed off. “So, I’ve got the old gang plus one on standby. Lorne suggested this place in West Hollywood, but I’m wary of going there,” he said awkwardly.

“It’s a demon karaoke bar, isn’t it,” I said with an amused smirk.

“He does seem to favor them,” he replied.

“It sounds fun. You could sing ‘Mandy’ again or ‘Copacabana’ or some other Barry Manilow song that you won’t admit you like,” I suggested.

“I’m never gonna live that story down, am I?” he asked.

“Probably not,” I remarked.

“So, should we take Lorne up on his offer?”

“I don’t know. Who’s the plus one?”

“What?”

“You said the old gang plus one. Who’s the new guy?”

“New girl, actually. She’s kinda, well, my girlfriend,” Angel replied.

“Oh, now we have to go. I need to give some friendly hazing to the new girl,” I said. I wiped my eyes quickly to make sure there were no errant tears. I hate crying.

“Oh, please don’t. Nina has been through enough at the hands of Gunn and Wes. That and she’s a werewolf. You don’t need to add more stress to her life,” Angel pleaded.

“Angel, you know that people don’t feel accepted by a group until they start getting friendly teased by them. It’s a known fact,” I told him.

“Fred, you’re a physicist, not a psychologist,” Angel pointed out.

“I am a lot more than a physicist lately. I’m a chemist, a mechanical engineer, a biochemist, and even a lawyer these days but I don’t feel like doing a whole big ramble right now,” I said.

“You still didn’t say psychologist,” Angel pointed out. My phone started ringing again and pulled it out. It was Natalie.

“Recognize her as a slayer?” I asked, showing Angel the picture.

“No, but I’m not on the best terms with them,” he said. I cancelled the call. She immediately called back. I answered it, but only begrudgingly.

“Hammer’s men are moving in on your position now! Get into the hotel and protect yourself,” Natalie ordered. She sounded like she was running.

“Now you’re stalking me. I know you were outside the garage last time,” I said.

“Fred, please. You’re surrounded. I…” she started to say but was cut off. The only way that happens on my phone is if communications are being jammed.

“See, complicated,” I told him.

“Let’s get inside,” he said.

I started to come up with a retort but Angel stood ramrod straight and started sniffing the air. I felt a pinch on the back of my neck and my head got all fuzzy. I stumbled and Angel caught me. He pulled a hypodermic dart from my neck and vamped out. “Angel?” I asked in a small voice. My vision started to focus and the drugs wore off.

“Fred, stay down,” Angel ordered. Men in black out gear entered the courtyard with submachine guns raised. I felt three more pinches and I fell to the ground. I pulled out my darkstone from my pocket and hit one of the guys in the chest with it. I drained enough so the body cracked apart and turned to dust. Angel attacked the armed men and I pushed myself to my feet, feeling the drugs burn off again. A man grabbed me in a bear hug from behind and a black bag slipped over my head. The darkstone fell from my hand and bounced away.

The drugs had worn off by then and I snapped my head back, breaking the man’s nose. He let go of me and I stumbled away, only to be grabbed again. I could hear Angel fighting in the background. I flailed and struck out in every direction, finally managing to get the hood off my head. One of the men grabbed me in a headlock from behind but I drew his unprotected hand gun and shot him in the kneecap twice. He cried out collapsed. The effects of the darkstone were still flush in my system so I managed to execute him with a bullet to the temple without any emotion. I didn’t feel anything. Even when I raised the gun and fired off a round into the head of the guy holding Angel. I had to shoot Angel through the neck to do it. He’d live. This was me without emotions. Just cold logic and disregard.

I reached into my pocket and pressed the emergency signal button on my phone. The signal went straight to Tony. I only had to keep these guys off me until he arrived. Iron Man will save me. It was clear I was the intended target. They were actively shooting at Angel and trying to drug me. Another man grabbed me and shoved a full hypodermic needle into my neck. My vision swam and my head turned to mush. The gun fell from my numb fingers. The men pulled me out of the courtyard and threw me into the back of a van.

A flash of curly blood red hair crossed my vision and I heard a neck snap as one soldier closed the doors. I could barely stay conscious. I heard a half dozen gunshots go off from smaller pistols. Not the kind that they used. In fact, there was a rifle back here. Hammer Industries too. This thing is a piece of crap but it was all I got. God, I felt like I was in Wonderland. These drugs were powerful and burning off much slower. The van started up and accelerated away.

I struggled to get myself up to a kneeling position and saw that the van they were using was a basic rental something. The kind abductors use. Apparently it isn’t just a stereotype. I could hear the telltale weapons of Iron Man firing off but that sound was getting farther and farther away. Moreover, I would place a serious bet that there was someone on the roof of this van, too. I pointed the rifle at where the driver’s torso would be through the partition and emptied the entire magazine. Counted out every shot.

The van screeched and spun sideways, dashing me against the walls, the roof, and the floor. We were rolling. As it crashed the sliding side doors ripped clean off. I fell out of the van and looked up to see Natalie in the road, clearly hurt. I pushed myself to my feet but fell down again. She looked my way and her expression looked like relief but quickly turned to horror.

I turned around and saw what must have been a second guy in the front of the van. He injected another full syringe into my chest and I sputtered a few times. These kinds of drugs were not meant to be administered straight to the heart. He may have killed me just now. The soldier stripped the rifle from me and slung it over his shoulder. Natalie tried to get up but he put a bullet into her side. He tried for more but the rifle clicked uselessly. One in the chamber. I forgot about the one in chamber.

“Fred!” she screamed out.

I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t help myself. The world spun faster and faster and I felt like I was on fire. The sedative was moving through my blood stream extremely fast because he put it into my adrenalized heart. This would not burn off quickly at all. This was going to put me down. This was not Wonderland, this was hell. Finally, I just blacked out.


	16. See Who Blinks

My cell door opened up and Justin Hammer walked in, hands in his pockets and ego on full display. “Well, well, well! Isn’t it something to see how far the mighty fall? To be beaten and broken and tossed aside for something done for the betterment of humanity. Isn’t what has happened to you here?” he asked as he sauntered over to me. I didn’t move from my position on the ground, handcuffed to the bedframe. He rested his hand on my jawline, tracing it tenderly. I felt the nausea boil up in me. He grabbed my chin roughly and forced me to look at him. “That exactly how I feel!” he yelled in my face.

I spit in his face and laughed weakly. I’d been here for three days now and the conditions were less than ideal. He hadn’t fed me once and I got a liter of water for the entire day. Dehydration set in a while back. Hunger was starting to bother me a little. It was around a 0-point-5 on the 5-point Pylea shitstorm though.

“Justin, no matter what you do to me here, you’ll always be the pathetic boy that could never land a date. I will always be above you,” I said, my voice uncomfortably raspy but my righteous superiority was still there.

Justin threw my head backwards and it hit the bed frame. The serum in my blood kicked in and healed my wounds again. The time before the serum kicked in and the amount of time needed for it to work was starting to get longer and longer thanks to the attention my captor was giving me. It was probably keeping me alive.

“I’m sorry, you sound like you could use a drink of water,” Justin said. He held up my day’s liter of water and dumped it out on top of me. I laughed again. “Why do you think everything is so damn funny?!”

“Because there is nothing you can do to me that hasn’t been done before. Because there is no reason to pretend to be afraid of you when you are nothing to be afraid of. Justin, I stared down the devil and he blinked,” I said flatly.

“There you go, more of that religious crap you used to spew. Are you going to pray to God now to deliver you from evil?” he asked.

“No, I already did that when your goons grabbed me. I guarantee you Tony found my phone after I sent the Emergency beacon out. How long do you think you have until he finds me?” I asked.

“Tony Stark will have one hell of a surprise when he gets here. I don’t plan on you surviving to see him get here, either. How do you think he’ll react when he finds you dead?” he asked. I laughed again and he smacked me. It took me a while to get my head to listen to me and turn back to face him, but I did it with a proud, defiant look on my face.

“Do you realize that you sound like a bad guy from comic books?” I asked him dryly.

“Just wait, Winifred! You won’t be laughing long. Not after your done being my test subject,” he said.

I waved my unbound hand airily at him. “This is the part when you where you rant your evil plan at me and then let out a maniacal laugh.”

“Did you really think I’m that stupid? I don’t need to tell you anything,” he said.

“It’s not going to work,” I said bluntly.

“I didn’t tell you anything!” he yelled.

“You didn’t need to. You’re planning to experiment on me. That means that you’re developing something new to take down Iron Man. We both know that it’s not a super suit, ‘cause that would be really stupid of you to put me in. What would happen if you put me in a super suit and it actually worked? Well, first I’d guess that you’d have Ivan Vanko put some programming tech in there to lock me out of all systems but we both know that anything he can do I can do better. I can do anything better than you,” I finished in a sing song voice.

Justin raised his hand to hit me again before getting a hold of himself. He walked out of the cell and slammed the door behind him. I laughed again, albeit a little crazier than usual and slumped back against the bed frame. It was happening as a side-effect of this incarceration. Through the pain and dehydration and starvation the isolation was rotting away at my sanity again. I had tried to occupy my thoughts with the work I had been doing back at home, but it wasn’t enough. This was turning into my cave once again. I blinked a few times, trying to make cave turn back into my cell but my brain wouldn’t accept my current situation. I tried focusing on Angel but I was sure he was okay. He’s a vampire. I could have put a bullet through his brain and he’d be okay. It was just his neck after all. Then I focused on Tony. Fine. I designed that suit to ensure he’d be fine. Natalie… she could be dead. I can’t think of that. But I am thinking of it! She was shot in the stomach. Her form appeared on my cave floor, dressed for our date. She was bleeding and reaching out for me. I was definitely losing it again.

Two guards came in. Everything shifted back to reality. Natalie disappeared and my cell was just my cell again. They uncuffed me and one threw me over his shoulder. The other one led us out. I didn’t feel like starting anything but I couldn’t help but notice the nine-inch knife the guard had on the back of his belt. These people may have killed Natalie and I was feeling very vengeful about that. Very vengeful and very crazy. Not a safe mix for anyone. A volatile situation and that knife could be my solution.

Sanity is only a state of mind and not always the best one. I summoned up my energy and bide my time as they carried me through the compound. This appeared to be the office buildings in an old warehouse. Probably east coast. I renovated a few of Stark Industries’ to go from weapon production to green tech.

We moved out of the office segment to the assembly floor. A whole segment meant for receiving had been turned into something else. Judging by the retrofits on the area beneath us, they made a lab out of it. We made our way down the catwalks and stairs to the assembly floor. There were only three guards total, the two that were escorting me and the one guarding the lab.

It is never wise to underestimate a survivor. I survived Pylea for a reason. Survivors know how to do things like this. We reroute our entire history and every drop of knowledge we’ve ever accumulated and turn it into a powerful weapon. I don’t know anyone that is smarter than me, either. That’s very bad for these guards.

Right before we got to the lab doors, which was right next to the facility exit, I pulled out the knife and stabbed him in the kidney. He fell back which was enough for me to flop free of his shoulder and stab him again in the chest, right through his heart. I twisted the blade and ripped it free, letting the blood flow off it like a river. The guard by the door fired off his gun but I pulled the other guard in front of me. I dropped the guard’s dead body and threw my knife into his neck. Jugular piercing causes a shower of bright red arterial blood. Good for shock and awe but it was too bad no one would see it.

A great number of rifles cocked around me and I saw that I had severely misjudged my number of enemies. The doors flew open and Justin Hammer stood there, flanked by four more armed guards. I smirked at him and wiggled my bloody fingers at him in a perverse greeting.

“What is wrong with you?!” he demanded. I smiled and walked towards him, keenly away of all the rifles pointed at me. I thought of a dozen ways to use him as a bullet sponge to cover my escape. I could leap the railing with him to use as a landing pad. Hell, I could break my own leg in that fall and still get away. I am nobodies slave.

“Don’t you ever wonder where I disappeared to in college, Justin? One day I’m the Professor’s favorite and the next day I’m missing? This is your first clue. He sent me somewhere that taught me how to do that,” I told him airily.

“You are a psychopath,” he replied. I wiped the blood off on his knock-off suit jacket like it was nothing. This was nothing to me. He might even be right. I might be a psychopath underneath it all. Who knows? It’s not like I’m a murderer or anything. Wait, well, huh. It’s not like I’ve personally, physically killed an innocent person. I can say that with certainty.

“Maybe. But I’m incredibly sane. I’m painfully sane. I see the world as it is. You believe you actually matter in it,” I told him. He backhanded me across the face and I laughed again. This time there was blood in my mouth. I easily spit it in his face from my crouched position.

“Get her in there!” he demanded loudly. Everything about him is loud. He’s too squirrelly to be taken seriously if he isn’t yelling.

The guards, now fourteen in total with their guns pointed at me, escorted me into the lab and into a testing chamber. I felt special. The guards strapped me in without trying to be nice. They hated me but they were definitely scared of me too. I felt something stab into my back in many different ways. My only luck was that the glass in front of me and the metal above me was reflective and I could see what I was hooked up to. I was in a test tube.

The tube was big enough for only one person to stand in, not that I had a choice. The electrode lattice that was attached to my spinal column inhibited most of my major motor skills. Past that, the metal bands across my body held me in place securely. Titanium carbide, only slightly weaker than the ones I used in the Expo stage. Most likely to prevent Iron Man from busting in here and ripping me out. It wouldn’t work. Sure, it would take him some effort but Iron Man could rip these. Or just cut through it with lasers. Lasers are always helpful. What I could do to these guys with a single laser emitter. The smell wouldn’t be great.

Needles and tubes were hovering above all my major veins and muscle groups. That would be for a full body injection without the advanced design that my serums have. It was going to be a crude injection into everything at once. Like the old Project Rebirth designs I saw in Howard Stark’s files. It won’t be pleasant. I watched Justin and Ivan Vanko working diligently on the machines outside the testing tube.

“Would you at least tell me what you’re doing to me? I’d like to know if I’m dying because of folly or if this is a legitimate experiment,” I said derisively, mustering as much courage as I could.

“I can assure you, Dr. Burkle, that this is not an exercise in folly. Before I administer this procedure on others, I need to know the limits on what the human body can handle before expiring,” Vanko said in his thick Russian accent. I could suppress the shudder that passed through me. Death did not scare me. Much. And wait, no he didn’t. If he had researched and planned properly there was no reason for him to do that unless of course he didn’t research and plan properly. This kind of slipshod science was reserved for the people who were effectively playing with gunpowder.

“So, what is it you’re going to do to me? I’d hate to die curious,” I said with false bravado.

“You look scared now, Winifred. I thought you said you stared down the devil and he blinked? Where’s that courage?” Justin goaded me. I steeled myself and glared at him.

“I’m injecting a hyper-ionized plasmatic compound into your circulatory and muscular systems while shocking your system with an increasing amperage of Korcov radiation. This, conducted by the plasma in your body, will transform your body into a higher state of existence. It will hurt a lot before it kills you,” Vanko explained.

“What makes you think you can find the proper ratio of plasma over amperage after just one live test?” I asked. This all sounded very familiar. I was right with my recent assessment. Project Rebirth. He was trying to remake Captain America but with blunt force science. It was the Super Soldier idea all over again. No one has gotten this right since Captain America. As someone who is about to get experimented on, I’d like to say I wish people would stop trying.

“Don’t try to convince me that it will be worth more to keep you alive. If I were to conduct this the way you are imagining I should, you would be begging for death after the first round. Consider this a mercy for a fellow scientist,” he replied.

“Just shut up and do it. I want to see this bitch fry,” Justin said darkly. There’s the truth of the matter.

“Very well,” Vanko said. He used what appeared to be reactor key on his console and flipped a switch. “Do svidaniya, Dr. Burkle,” he said, almost regretfully.

No. I am not the damsel in distress. I am not some case from one of Cordy’s visions. Not again! I can survive this. I lived in a cave for five years in a world where they killed humans like cattle. I am not going to be cut down by some pissy schoolboy with a grudge, I am better than that! What a wonder how very scared I am. Cordy… if you’re ever listening to this inner monologue of mine. I need you now more than ever. Please. Please…

Shimmering silver liquid with the consistency of my original Regeneris serum poured through the tubes. The needles punctured my skin and the moment it hit my veins and muscles I seized up, unable to scream. The Korcov current took care of that for me. Blue electricity raced all over my body, through my veins and muscles. I screamed in pain but it only got worse, as promised. The more fluid that was pumped into me and the higher the current got, the less I could breathe. I wasn’t dying though. I wanted to, god, did I want to, but I wasn’t. The modified Regeneris went into overdrive to compensate for the foreign materials and energy. It kicked the needles out of my body and disconnected the electrode lattice from my body. The energy blew back into the system, leaving me limp in the restraints. Smoke filled the tube and I started to cough painfully. The final dredges of the serum removed all the soreness and pain from my body.

“What the hell happened, Ivan? I wanted her dead! Not developing a case of lung cancer!” Justin yelled. I struggled a little against my bonds, still coughing. The metal snapped off like paper. I froze for a moment and contemplated that. That required more force per square inch than Iron Man falling out of the sky. Everything went silent outside the tube.

“I am not sure what is happening in there and I won’t know until the smoke is cleared out. The electrical feedback burst destroyed the vent circuitry,” Vanko said.

I threw my arms outward and ripped the metal bands off me. Some of the pieces hit the glass tube and cracked it.

“Ivan, you said that it wouldn’t work! You said that it would kill her!” Justin declared. Vanko hit the secondary fan switch and the smoke cleared out, leaving a very angry me. “Oh, god!” he yelled and ran out of the lab’s main door onto the assembly floor. Vanko turned and fled out a side door. I knew who I was going after.

I placed my palm on the glass and flexed my fingers. That’s all. I barely moved them more than a fraction of an inch. The glass shattered. I exited the tube and walked across the lab, getting a glimpse of myself on the security monitor. No wonder Justin fled in fear. A new alert flashed across the screen and I saw Iron Man blowing open the doors to Hammer Industries and setting fire to the offices. Throughout the complex, blacked out soldiers took out the security guards. I had to figure they weren’t with Justin and they weren’t SHIELD. Wolfram & Hart’s tactical team. Angel told me about them once. I grabbed the foot-thick metal door protecting the lab and ripped off its moorings. Justin Hammer was not going to leave this facility alive.

“I can smell your fear, little man. Do you think that because it is dark in here I won’t be able to find you?” I openly mocked, slowly moving through the inert machinery in the assembly. I couldn’t actually smell his fear. My sense of smell and taste did not seemed to be heightened but I could see clearly in a dark factory. Hearing, sight, touch, and it seemed like a couple of new senses were created. A hunter’s sense, definitely. A rattle and crash came from behind one of the conveyor belts. Justin was running towards the back exit. The offices were on fire from Tony’s less than subtle entrance and the fire was spreading to the assembly.

“Stay away from me!” he yelled. I grabbed the conveyor belt and ripped it out of the ground. It took little to no effort to throw it aside and take out the wall to the offices. The fire spilled out unchecked and cast the entire warehouse in a demonic glow.

“Did you ever think it would end this way? On your knees, begging for your life?” I asked as I slowly approached him. He made a break for the door and I threw another conveyor belt to block it off. He skidded to a stop and fell over.

“What do you want from me? Do want me to apologize?” he demanded.

“That would be favorable,” I said.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry, damnit! Now let me go!” he yelled.

“No,” I said, closing in on him.

“I did what you wanted from me!” he said.

“No, you did what you wanted. I want you dead,” I said.

“Somebody, help me!” he screamed.

“No one is going to help you now, Justin,” I said.

He continued scampering backwards in fear of me. Justin removed a rifle from the body of a dead guard and fired multiple bursts at me. The bullets struck my chest and flattened into a lead discs. He dropped the rifle and hid behind a scissor lift.

“Please! Have mercy on me!” he yelled.

“Mercy? It offends me that you think I’m capable of such a notion right now,” I said in a low, steady voice.

“You blue bitch! Why couldn’t you have just died in there?”

“You’re assuming I didn’t,” I replied. I heard Tony approaching and knew I was running out of time.

“You think you can just kill me? You’re a hero. Heroes don’t just kill people. They have them arrested. How long do you possibly think the police will hold me? You think this is over, it’s never over,” Justin said with far too much bravado for one who just lost bladder control.

“You blinked,” I stated.

Tony landed nearby. “Fred! You’re okay!” he exclaimed, hurrying over to me. I turned and looked at him blankly with cold crystalline eyes. He stumbled backwards. I pointed at Hammer hiding behind the lift.

“He did this to me. He and Vanko,” I replied.

“Vanko got away,” Tony said. I bristled momentarily.

“Justin Hammer will not,” I said.

“I know. We’ll take him into custody,” he replied.

“Thank you! This crazy bitch was going to kill me!” Hammer exclaimed.

I reached over and grabbed the hydraulic cable for the lift. Tony put his armored hand on my shoulder. “Fred, no! We don’t just kill people. Let the police do their job. I’ll get us home,” Tony said.

“I decline,” I replied. With one hand I shoved Tony across the warehouse and with the other I yanked out the cable. The scissor lift lost its support and crashed down on Justin Hammer, killing him instantly. Tony activated his suit’s thrusters and rushed towards me. I waved my hand and time slowed down. That would be a mental projection. Their experiment mucked up my mind as well. I decided that I should leave and walked out of the ruins of Hammer Industries before letting time speed back up.


	17. Fall to Pieces

Outside Hammer Industries I found Angel, Charles, and Wesley waiting for me. They all visibly flinched at my appearance and Wesley took a moment longer to lower the handguns he was pointing in my direction. Pragmatic as always. I really, truly, admire that in him. Angel dropped his sword and ran over to me. He wrapped me into a tight hug. “Fred! What happened to you?” he asked.

“I was experimented on. I don’t believe that Dr. Frankenstein believed his monster would come back to kill him,” I said in a flat, emotionless tone even though I was amused at my own comment on the inside. Angel took a step back and looked at me cautiously.

“My god, Fred. I’m so sorry. We’ll find a way to fix this,” Charles said, grabbing me tightly. I didn’t hug him back.

“I’m offended that you think I should reject this,” I said, not believing I had any choice in the matter. As opposed to them, I was there when this happened. This didn’t feel temporary.

“You don’t have any emotions,” Wesley pointed out. I looked at him and Charles and Angel again.

“I… do. I’m just repressing them. I’ll lose my sanity if I let myself feel what happened these past three days,” I said reluctantly, momentarily cracking the ice around my soul.

I expected Tony to be exiting the building soon enough but surprisingly Pepper ran out. I looked at her very carefully. Her clothes were mostly burnt off but she wasn’t harmed. In fact, there was a fire underneath her skin. Tony didn’t set the offices on fire like I thought. She did. No, no, no, no, no. Tell me she didn’t. I turned and ran to her.

“Fred! You’re alive!” Pepper gasped out. She starting crying immediately and the fire dissipated from under her skin. Even the glow disappeared from her eyes. I pulled her into a tight hug and felt myself crying too.

“Tell me you didn’t. Tell me you didn’t damn yourself to save me,” I begged her. My legs went out from under me as my strength left. I ended up on my knees with my face pressed into her hip.

“What? What do you mean?” she asked. She was stroking my hair in the same way she always did despite the fact I look like a demon right now.

“The experimental vial of modified Extremis that I left on my desk. Please tell me that is the one you took instead of the other one in storage,” I explained.

“Of course. I looked through your desk for any kind of clue to how I could help you and I found that. JARVIS told me what it was and it was worth it if it meant saving you. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for this family,” she told me.

Iron Man landed next to me and I did not feel like fighting right now but I tensed up none the less. Strength rushed back through my body and I stood straight with my head held high. I will not apologize for what I did in there.

“You sure? I am a monster now,” I told her. Pepper scoffed angrily and stared deep into my eyes. Her body seemed to glow brightly under the skin and her eyes flared up like fire. Her veins were glowing like fire but her body was stable and holding like I designed.

“What am I then? A number of Justin Hammer’s goons got in my way and they died burning,” she said. Tony’s visor slid up again and looked at the two of us. I knew the look in his eyes. Angel had it right now too. Blame. They believed this was their fault. Heroes. Always taking the blame for everything in this world.

“You’re not a monster. You could never be a monster,” Tony said.

“How can you say that? What I just did to Justin Hammer, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!” I exclaimed. I struggled to get away from Pepper but I couldn’t break her embrace.

“Bastard had it coming. If you hadn’t I would have,” Charles said darkly. I frowned at the hypocrisy of his statement.

“As would I,” Wesley added.

“And me. That doesn’t make you a monster, Fred. We know what monsters are. You’ve faced them alongside us for long enough to know the only monster here was Hammer,” Angel said. I looked askance and sighed in defeat. Everyone’s always willing do to anything so innocent Fred wouldn’t have to. Goes back my entire life. It leads people to do things, horrible things in my name. Charles killed Professor Sidel so I wouldn’t. That was my fight but he didn’t want the blood on my hands. Pepper injecting the Extremis just to save me and leaving a trail of scorched bodies in her wake. No one gets it. My hands have been covered in blood since I got to Pylea. I am not worth the devotion they give me.

I am not the innocent sweet girl they believe me to be. The version of me at my worst, and my darkest, killed those guards with ease and laughed about it. And yet, when I look at my… my friends, my family around me, they’d kill hundreds for me. Thousands. That kind of power scares me. I am not Jasmine and yet here my followers are. I can’t. I just can’t do this… be this.

The energy seemed sapped from me yet again and I slumped into her arms. Of course now it was easy for Pepper to hold me up.

“You’ve already changed back to the Fred I remember, see?” Tony said, holding up one of my arms. I stared at it in scared disbelief. My skin looked normal now. Did any of it really happen or had my insanity reached a new level? I closed my eyes and concentrated on that feeling of power that coursed through me just under the surface. Pepper’s arms tightened around me. I opened my eyes and saw that I had changed again. I let go of the power and I returned to normal.

“I seem to have a certain level of control over it,” I mused.

“Will anyone hate me if I say that’s a good thing? I saw you throw Iron Man across that warehouse like it was nothing. That’s why we hung back out here for that last bit of the fight,” Charles said.

“I’m more concerned about people hating me,” I answered.

“Your friends, your family, we don’t hate you for it,” Tony said.

“Are you kidding me? We are not going to hate you. I have never been so frightened in my life. If you came back covered in rocks and scales and couldn’t speak anything except snake anymore, I’d still hold you and never let go,” Pepper said.

“What if I was suddenly made of strawberries?” I asked, feeling a little better.

“Then she’d hug you and go into anaphlactic shock,” Tony replied. I laughed.

“I can’t believe you remembered that about her. She owes me twenty bucks,” I said.

“I left my wallet at home,” she replied. I smiled at her. It was a real smile too.

“Well, it seems she’s still the old Fred after all,” Wesley commented.

“Maybe, perhaps not. But at least I have all y’all t’keep me from losing it,” I said.

“Any time, no matter what color you are,” Wesley replied. I shifted again and separated from Pepper. I needed to stand on my own two feet right now.

“We have to go after Vanko. He’s a threat and he’s got a major grudge against you, Tony,” I said.

“Whoa, we? You mean I have to go after Vanko,” Tony said.

“You’re thinking of leaving me out? Really?” Pepper asked.

“You just came down with a cold this morning,” Tony argued reflexively.

“And then I came down with a case of super powers this afternoon,” she retorted.

“No, Tony. We. You, me, and Pepper. He’s expecting you and wants you to come after him. He’s prepared with some kind of rival tech that he’s been muttering about. I don’t think he realized that I could speak rudimentary Russian. He may be expecting me now, but he certainly isn’t prepared for me or Pepper,” I said.

“Fred, you’re not thinking clearly. You might have all these amazing new powers that none of us understand, but that doesn’t mean that you can just rush off to beat the bad guy,” Tony said.

“This isn’t a comic book, Tony, or some kind of video game. I don’t need to appear in a certain number of issues like this before being a part of something big and we don’t need to level up. I understand the base changes to my body quite well already. He used a variant of the Super Soldier Serum on me. A failed one but my Regeneris made it work in me. This hunting down the bad guy thing? I have been doing this for years before you were even abducted in Afghanistan,” I argued.

“Stark. This is what Fred does,” Angel said in my defense.

“And why not, Tony? So, you can get yourself killed in a blaze of glory? That doesn’t work for me,” Pepper said.

“Alright, two reasons off the top of my head. One: Winifred Burkle is not a known superhero. If your name were to be used in connection with that blue form of yours, the fallout would be immense for both you and everything you’ve worked to achieve at STI. Two: we have absolutely no idea where he went. It’s going to take some time to track him down,” Tony said.

“I already thought of both of those. Like usual, I’m steps ahead of even you. As for tracking him down, I’ll be ready for when that time comes. I want my revenge,” I said.

“I can’t let you just kill him like you did Hammer,” he answered. I opened my mouth for a retort but Charles stepped forward and but his hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Look, man, I don’t know how you three run things over at superhero central, but let me say from personal experience that it’s a really bad idea to stand in her way when she talks like that,” Charles said. My spine stiffened at what he was referencing. I looked over at him and to his credit, he didn’t flinch.

I looked back at Tony over my shoulder and locked eyes with him. “Go home, Tony. I’m going to catch a ride back with them. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said gently.

“Come home safe, okay?” Pepper asked.

“I will, I promise,” I told her.

“You’re just okay with that?” Tony asked her. Pepper nodded and wrapped her arms around him. Tony reluctantly put his helmet back on. They took off into the sky, leaving us behind. Charles put his denim jacket over my shoulders. I smiled at him thankfully.

“I think you may have got some Hammer in your hair,” Wesley said. I felt the section he was gesturing to and grimaced.

“Oh, that’s just disgusting,” I said, wiping my hand off on the jacket. They couldn’t help but smile in return. Any sign that I could still be the old me comforted them. I guess I could pretend for now.

Angel helped me up the steps to the Wolfram & Hart executive plane which was a VTOL, much to my surprise. I didn’t think SHIELD wanted anyone else to have that technology. Vertical Take Off and Landing is an amazing strategic advantage. It eliminates the need for runways and meant that this could land on the building’s roof. Good thing it didn’t, the roof was collapsing.

As the adrenaline had left my system, I felt like my entire body was made of lead. Wesley had assured me that this kind of reaction to my initial transformation was expected, even the bloody noses and coughing up blood. It felt like some kind of demon flu. The human body doesn’t take too kindly to sudden and massive cellular and genetic restructuring and I didn’t have any more Regeneris in me to fix me up nor did I think that I could get the needle in me. It was a miracle that Steve Rogers came out as perfectly as he did. God knows what the pure, original Extremis must have felt like to Eric Savin. Perhaps that was why he was so insane? No, he was already that way. Still… this felt good despite everything else.

I felt someone grab me away from Angel and I reflexively turned blue again. Angel, Wesley, and Charles all yelled for me to stop and I took that moment to look at who grabbed me. I saw green skin, red eyes, red horns, and brown spikey hair. Lorne took a step back but didn’t let go of my shoulders.

“Cupcake! What happened? You’ve got some blue frosting now,” he said in shock.

“Amusing, truly. Why must you compare everyone to pastries, vegetables, or fruit?” I asked in the dull monotone. Lorne blinked a few times and let his hands drop down.

Angel pulled me into a one-armed hug and kissed my hair. “Fred, remember when you said you had control over this?” he asked. I nodded, closed my eyes and forced myself to let go. I coughed a few times and spat up some blood into my elbow.

“I have it,” I said. Angel led me over to the seats and I slowly sat down. Charles knocked on the cockpit’s door three times and the plane started to take off.

“Is it okay if I ask what happened or am I going to get insulted by a smurf again,” Lorne asked. I chuckled wetly to myself and spit out some more blood into the tissue Angel handed me.

“She was experimented on. What you saw is the result,” Angel explained.

“I’m considering the name Illyria,” I stated out of nowhere.

“Illyria? Where did you come up with that?” Angel asked.

“I couldn’t get Twelfth Night out of my head throughout my three days incarcerated. In fact, I hallucinated it quite a bit,” I remarked.

“Ah, and so now you envision yourself a kind of Viola with your newfound personality?” Wesley asked. Leave it to the Brit in our motley crew to know his Shakespeare that well.

“No, Olivia. My Cesario fractured and she shed her guise because I saw Viola trying to save me. She was the last thing I saw before I was finally taken,” I said.

“Never one for simple things, were you?” Charles replied.

“Says the man who cried at the ballet,” I reminded him.

“Hey, that show was intense,” he defended himself.

“So because your life doesn’t exactly mimic a single character, you choose the kingdom that it’s set in?” Angel asked. I forgot that he was rich and Irish back when he was alive. There wasn’t much in the way of theatre fair without the Bard.

“Illyria feels fit for a queen doesn’t it? And just how many tabloids or entertainment shows like to call me Queen Stark anyways?” I quipped.

“And what, you decided to put on a show?” Wesley asked.

“Haven’t you heard, Wes? All the world’s a stage,” I replied with a weak, forced smile.

“Are you two people in one body or what?” Lorne asked.

“I’m one person with two very different moods now. I guess the best example I can come up with at the moment is Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but not so… defined,” I said.

“I’ll say. That glare you gave, Illyria gave, whatever, could stop an army of vampires,” Charles said.

“I gave. Attribute all my actions to me. Think of the name Illyria as nothing but a code name. Like Iron Man is for Tony. I however, will continue to differentiate in my mind between myself and Illyria. Keeps things separate,” I said.

“So, in your mind you become Illyria and then return to yourself?” Angel asked.

“It actually sounds like a more flexible version of Angel and Angelus,” Wesley said. I glared at him and he held his hands up in surrender.

“I was trying to avoid any allusions to a sociopathic mass murder, no offense, Angel,” I said.

“No, you’re right, but so is Wesley. If you don’t keep your set of morals when you changed, there would be little difference between you and me,” Angel replied.

“All this talk of our fearless leader’s bad hair day is making me a bit jumpy. Would you mind singing me a tune, pumpkin, just so I can get a read on you?” Lorne asked nervously.

I sighed and sat up straight on the couch. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey,” I sang weakly. Lorne clutched his temples as a migraine set in.

“I am going to need quite a few sea breezes to shake that one,” Lorne said.

“Is it that bad?” I asked nervously, coughing up a little more blood.

“I can’t tell, sweetie. I got images, though, lots of images,” Lorne replied. Everyone leaned forward in their seats to hear more, but he didn’t continue.

“Of?” Charles asked.

“Of people, places, things, events, battles. What do you want me to say? I saw a lot of familiar faces and some not. You’re destined for major, world changing things, kiddo. But you already knew that. That’s exactly what you’ve been doing since you teamed up with that pirate-y piece of eight Tony Stark. All you have to do to change the world is decide to do it when you wake up in the morning, but I will tell you the spider’s loyalty is to her friends before her spinner,” Lorne said.

I nodded slowly and tried to figure out what in the world that last part meant. I relaxed in my seat. “Thanks, Lorne. At least I know I’m on the right track, current developments notwithstanding,” I said.

“Uh-uh, Fredikins. These major, world changing things are because of current developments. The universe knows that one of its major players has just gone in for a retrofit and its planning accordingly. None of the stuff I saw just now was in your future back when we were playing PI. And I knew you were going to go to Stark back then. Your bad blue self is going to have some major screen time in the upcoming show,” he explained.

“For good or ill?” I asked nervously.

“That’s always up for you to decide,” he replied.

The plane ride was spent drinking various cocktails that Lorne could think up. If he could actually get drunk, he’d be drunker than a party girl at a rock concert. He filled me in on some more images from his visions. A hammer stuck in the ground in the desert, a face half black and half white, and a rainbow pillar. A plane in the ice and a circular shield. Said that the clock can run backwards when someone moves the hands. He didn’t understand it, so it wasn’t just me.

When the plane landed outside LAX on a private runway it was pouring rain. Everything was soaked. Charles pushed open the door for me and I descended the steps, not particularly caring about the water. My clothes were in tatters anyway and I wasn’t gonna get sick from some rain. At the bottom was someone I thought I was through dealing with.

“Doctor Burkle. We need to talk,” Nick Fury said.

“Do we?” I asked suspiciously.

“It has to do with the little show you put on in Queens a few hours ago,” he said. I tensed up and took a step back up towards the airplane. Natalie Rushman from legal, my Natalie Rushman, my would-be date, walked up to him in a black leather tight-fitting cat suit and holstering a pair of specialized smaller handguns on her belt. Okay, it made her look damn good and forget any crush I may have had on Willow. I was now into infatuated territory even if my brain was screaming betrayal. She was just… wow. I bet those guns made that sound I heard when I was being abducted.

I immediately turned blue and gripped the railing tighter, crushing it in my grip. You couldn’t believe how painful it was to have my heart break in that many pieces. I could have dealt with her being a slayer. I could have dealt with a lot of things. I was dealing with the fact I thought she died trying to save me. But SHIELD? This was too far. This means she was spying on us. And now, she was in fear of me because she reflexively had her guns drawn and pointed at me.

“I think you and I need to talk, Natalie,” I said evenly. I heard the cocking of a dozen other rifles and handguns from all around the airfield. I crouched a bit in case I needed to do that time-stop thing again to get out of here.

“Hold on, Doctor Burkle. We’re on the same side here,” Fury said.

“It’s not appearing that way, Nick,” I replied.

“Just a precaution,” Fury said.

“Get rid of them or I will. Including the guy with the bow that thinks I can’t see him on the air traffic control tower,” I said coldly.

“Fred, you need it to get it under control. Don’t be the monster they think you are…” came Angel’s voice from inside the plane as a small warning.

“Now, Doctor Burkle, we’ve been allies in the past,” Fury said.

“No, we haven’t, Director Fury. You have bullied and cajoled us to march to your fife for a while now. You abducted me with a slayer and upwards of thirty men when I was a regular human. Now I find out that Natalie Rushman is a spy in your employ who was using me for information. A false friend. Tell me, how are we allies?” I asked taking a step down the stairs towards them. The metal of the stair buckled under my foot. I could hear that archer’s bowstring draw taught. I will catch that arrow and ram it through his throat, so help me.

“Upon learning of Mr. Stark’s terminal condition SHIELD felt it was necessary to plant an agent inside your organization to monitor his health and the rapidity of his disease’s condition,” Natalie said. I simply glared at her.

“I trusted you. You! You used me,” I spat out.

“Agent Romanov has always been one hundred percent on your side, Doctor Burkle,” Fury said.

“I told you to get rid of your guns or I would. My patience is running thin. I would hate for this to turn out to a bad day,” I said sarcastically.

“A sense of humor, that is a good sign,” Fury said, completely nonplussed by my threat. I raised my hand up as if to snap my fingers.

“Stand down!” Natalie ordered loudly. All the guns reluctantly lowered but I noticed that I never heard a bowstring slacken. No matter, I didn’t fear his arrow. I lowered my hand to my side. Fury stepped forward past Natalie to come nearly face to face with me.

“I will make this painfully clear to you, Doctor Burkle. I and SHIELD consider you and Tony Stark allies. That has not changed. What has changed is how I classify you. Iron Man has always been considered an asset to world peace and global security, the very things SHIELD strives for. You, Doctor Burkle, have always been considered a consultant or analyst. Behind the scenes or lab work only. Now, after your display in Queens, we are considering reclassifying you with Iron Man, at least this blue demon side you’re showing right now. Tony Stark as a consultant and Iron Man as an asset. Winifred Burkle as a consultant and Blue as an asset. Understand? I have an operation in the Southwest Region that I need your help with. Everything you have ever done in your life will be needed in this project. But this all hangs on one thing: do you have what it takes to hold it all together or will you become more of a liability than an asset to this world?” Fury asked.

I reluctantly let go of Illyria and changed back to normal. I could hear the audible sighs of relief from inside the plane and from the SHIELD agents surrounding us. “You plant a mole in my company and specifically get that mole close to me, a serious act of betrayal, and then you say you want my help? You look me in the eye and tell me that if I don’t help the consequences will be unimaginable. I will not be fed some D-rate gig just for placation,” I said.

“I cannot tell you that. I cannot tell you anything because we do not know anything yet. This could be as serious as Armageddon or as trivial as buying milk from the grocery store. We just Do Not Know. Are you ready for that kind of work?” Fury asked.

“I do the impossible every day,” I replied.

“Good. Then deal with your Vanko situation and pack a bag for New Mexico. Agent Romanov, get Doctor Burkle home,” Fury said.

“Yes, sir,” she replied.

I glanced back at the airplane and saw the uneasy faces of my friends. I gave them a small smile and a wave. “Thanks for the ride,” I said and turned to leave.

“Fred,” Angel said. I turned back to him. He looked lost for words but clearly worried.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll see you soon enough,” I said.

“Doctor Burkle?” Natalie asked. I walked over to the car provided and she climbed into the driver’s seat. I cautiously took the passenger one. We started to drive.

“The moment we are outside SHIELD surveillance we need to talk,” I said.

“Understood,” she replied simply. One we got outside the airport she pulled off the road and came to a complete stop.

I turned to Natalie and slammed her against the other side of the car. Her hand went to her gun but I turned blue and leveled a cold glare at her. “So, Agent Romanov, was it? Care to tell me anything?” I asked acerbically. She was actually scared of me right now. Her body didn’t give anything away but her eyes did. I, a monster, frightened her. That hurt me, really deep down. I didn’t want to be the monster that caused her such fear. Her eyes were so wide and glistening, like she wasn’t sure if she was going to cry at that moment. It broke my heart. However, I don’t care how pretty a face is if it betrayed me.

“My name is Natasha Romanov, I’m a SHIELD Shadow. As I said earlier, we were very concerned about Mr. Stark’s condition and the effect it would have on the whole Iron Man operation so I was embedded in the company, specifically the legal department to watch for any kinds of shifts in power that were happening as you were unlikely to immediately disclose any of the information. SHIELD doesn’t like to get its news from TMZ, as you might guess,” she said.

“Just Agent Romanov? No super-secret codename? No mysterious name muttered on the lips of your dying victims?” I asked.

“From you? I’d prefer a first name basis over anything else. But I have been known as the Black Widow here and there,” she replied.

My mind immediately shot back to my conversation with Lorne and his comment about the spider being loyal to her friends before her spinner. I relaxed completely and retreated to the other side of the car. I shifted back to normal and looked her in the eyes once again.

“If I called you Natasha, that would mean we would be friends. Wouldn’t that get in the way of orders you might receive? For instance, say Fury ordered you to sabotage my company for any reason, what would you do then? I know Natalie Rushman wouldn’t do it, but what about Natasha Romanov?” I mused.

“I may work for SHIELD but I am in no way beholden to their every whim,” she said.

“I’m glad to hear that,” I said

“Neither is the Agent on the tower. You’d know him as Jared, the student you spoke to the night of Professor Sidel’s attack? He definitely would have fired an arrow at you, even if he was told not to,” she informed me.

“It wouldn’t’ve worked,” I remarked.

“I know. That would have been… bad for all of us,” she replied.

“Not… you. I don’t know what game you were playing at with me but if you were trying to engender some kind of affection, it worked,” I stated coldly. She started driving again.

“That… that was unexpected. I have done dozens of missions where I have had to falsify attraction and fake intimacy and never felt anything. And this job was supposed to be simple. I wasn’t even supposed to have contact with any of you. The probability rate of any of you three coming to deal with a legal issue yourself was infinitesimal. Then again, our actuary probably didn’t take into account your need to get things done personally when you’re emotionally invested in something,” she replied.

“Is this going somewhere that isn’t going to make me crawl into a bottle?” I asked.

“I wasn’t supposed to contact you. Fury’s orders. Mr. Stark is oblivious and Ms. Potts is easily misled. You come from a different background. A demon hunter’s background. You fight the unseen and the hidden. Too high of a chance that’d you’d figure something out and get suspicious. Then you walk right into my office and we talk. Then we talk again and again and I find myself unable to stop talking to you. We weren’t supposed to plan that mall day and my attempted rescue was completely unsanctioned. I became very emotionally compromised. Fury was going to remove me from the assignment before you were abducted,” she explained.

“Speaking of that, I spent three days locked in a cell, handcuffed to a basic metal bedframe, beaten, starved, and dehydrated,” I listed off. Natasha seemed very upset and uncomfortable with that. She reached out and grabbed my hand tightly in hers.

“I swear that I was working as hard as I could to find you. Director Fury mobilized everyone he could to track down where Hammer could have hiding you. I didn’t stop looking for you,” she promised me.

“That wasn’t what I was getting at. The moments before I blacked out, my last memories as it were, was you taking a 5.56x45mm NATO round to the chest. For three days, I thought you were dead. For three days, I was in that cell remembering that moment and thinking about how I must have failed you. The last thing I heard was you screaming for me. I hallucinated your corpse time and time again. So, imagine how I felt, expecting to hear of your death but instead seeing you apparently unharmed and working for SHIELD. Imagine how the heart can shatter finding that out after three days of mourning you,” I said.

“I was wearing an enhanced body armor underneath my clothes. It is the same ballistic technology integrated into this suit,” she said.

“Is that your way of saying just how unfathomable it must have been for me?” I asked dryly.

“The bullet didn’t penetrate the protection but because I was already stunned by the vehicle crash and the bullet’s trajectory, I couldn’t breathe properly and therefore couldn’t get to my feet or draw either of my pistols. I had to watch for that moment as an unknown paramilitary operative injected what appeared to be a fatal dose of sedative straight into your heart. We made eye contact and I could see the shock and the pain in your eyes. That was the last thing I saw before you were spirited away. For three days, I have had to remember how I failed to save you. I have paced about the most technologically advanced base in the world and watched how a hundred people worked and failed to find you. I had to sit on my hands for three days until a tip came in about your location. A tip from a PMC soldier in Hammer’s employ that felt bad. And then, I get to New York only to find out that you had just left. You managed not only to escape, but you did it on your own. You didn’t even need me. Now when I finally see you, I see what was done to you and in my experience when a person can change like that, it isn’t really them in there. I believed I was looking at a mockery of the sweet and funny woman I’ve come to care for. Is your pain really unfathomable to me?” she explained coolly and calmly. At least, her voice remained level. Her grip on the steering wheel looked like a vice and it even started to buckle. She was clearly a lot stronger than she appeared.

The rest of the ride was spent in painful silence. For two people who could find it so easy to talk to not be able to speak now was unimaginable. However, I believe that it simply hurt too much. Like it or not, we touched each other’s lives in ways neither of us anticipated. She, like so many others, was devastated by my capture because the look in her eyes I saw on everyone who came for me today.

“I trust you,” I said as we approached entered the Malibu area.

“Why would you do that? I am as you put it, a false friend,” she said coldly. That stung me.

“Are you aware of my friends who gave me a ride back to LA?” I asked.

“The CEO and top staff of Wolfram & Hart. The group of you used to act as supernatural PIs for the Los Angeles area,” she stated.

“One of them is a conduit for the Powers That Be. He told me to trust the spider and since I trust him implicitly, I will trust the Black Widow. So, there it is. I trust you Natasha. For good or for ill,” I said.

“Can I trust you?” she asked.

“Yes, I am still me. This merely… brought a part of me to the surface that I try to keep hidden,” I said.

Natasha pulled the car up the winding road but stopped a good ways from home. I looked at her curiously. She put the car in park and killed the lights. The light of the front door didn’t even reach us. Actually, we were outside all current scanning ranges. The only thing that could pick us up was satellite. Something she seemed to anticipate because she tapped a control and the car got very hot. The heaters were actually in the roof. Clever. We were invisible to all but the naked eye.

“I need to say something before I lose my nerve. You have put me into a very precarious situation that I have never been in before. You have become my weakness. I have a lot of enemies out in the wider world and they cannot know about you because if they did they would come after you and despite what you are about to say, I know you can take care of yourself now. I saw the damage and I can separate what Ms. Potts did and what you did. You and I cannot exist beyond the veil of friends, teammates, or colleagues. I need you to understand that,” she insisted. I couldn’t help it. I rolled my eyes. It was like she was channeling all of Angel’s broodiness in one fell swoop. I was surrounded with these kinds of people!

“Ms. Rushman. As you are an employee of Stark Technologies and Innovations, you are bound by the terms and conditions of your employment. Under no circumstances can there be romantic or sexual relationships between people working together in the same department and especially not within that department’s authority structure. So, get anything thoughts of that out of your mind,” I told her.

“You’re the CTO and solely work in R&D. I’m in legal. I read the contract,” she said, completely mystified.

“That’s the point,” I whispered before kissing her quickly. She smiled, probably mostly in disbelief.

“This is going to blow up in our faces,” she stated.

“Probably, but it is a good thing neither of us does normal,” I told her.

“I should get you home, Dr. Burkle,” she said, though a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Thank you, Ms. Rushman. Though, I must ask. Any tips for keeping secrets in case I need to in the future? Your advice has always helped me,” I said.

“Don’t keep anything from Ms. Potts or Mr. Stark. Also, lies built out of pieces of the truth are much better. We have both been missing for three days and there is obviously something going on between us. It appears that Natalie Rushman may have to have a secret lover invented,” she said conspiratorially. She drove the car up to the front door and I couldn’t stop the giggle from leaving my mouth. I honestly didn’t even feel like that monster I had become.

“I feel like I’m in high school all over again with my date dropping me off at the front door,” I said, full Texan drawl on display.

“Well, tell them I’m sorry if you’re past curfew. Won’t happen again,” she replied dryly.

“Goodnight, Natalie, and thank you,” I said earnestly.

“Goodnight, Winifred. I can almost guarantee we’ll talk tomorrow,” she replied.

I watched as Natasha Romanov, a SHIELD assassin, my… friend… drove off and away from the villa. It was surreal. Everything that has happened is surreal. The fact that I have to walk in to Iron Man and Pepper on Extremis is surreal. Pepper is on Extremis and perhaps permanently. Still haven’t fully wrapped my mind around that one. I opened the front door and stepped inside. I was right. Tony and Pepper, right there.

“So, how was the flight?” Tony asked.

“Lots of alcohol, none of it effective,” I replied, brushing by both of them. I didn’t want to do this in the entry way.

“And who was that driving you home?” Pepper asked. Ooh… they were tag teaming me. This was fun. Also, not anything like my fantasies of being tag teamed by them. Still, with Tony’s libido and Pepper’s Extremis fueled impulses, I can’t quite rule my fantasies out. They just got more interesting. I wonder how much furniture superhero sex breaks. I am willing to do more research in that if the opportunity arises.

“Well, I knew I would need a ride so I called a friend of mine,” I said.

“Oh? And which friend would that be because you got a plane ride from a private jet and your friends there could have had done it I bet,” Tony said.

“And didn’t I just see that denim jacket on Charles Gunn over in Queens?” Pepper asked.

“But that wasn’t him, was it?” Tony followed up. I couldn’t help my wide smile at this inquisition. It was a game of information and who knew what. If I didn’t have the ace here and I have the best information, I’d be nervous. Also, I’m completely not ashamed of much of anything and I’m sitting on cloud nine right now, so not nervous.

“No, Tony. I called my good friend down in legal. Natalie Rushman? We’ve gone out for coffee a few times and we’re… uh… well, we’re close, so I trusted her with picking me up,” I explained.

“I can tell because there is crimson lipstick on the side of your mouth and I don’t think it’s yours,” Pepper said.

I smudged her lipstick? I didn’t think I kissed her that hard. I walked over to the counter and turned the tablet built into the marble into a mirror. Yep, that’s Natasha’s lipstick. I grinned saucily and turned back to Pepper.

“I’m sorry, Pepper. I know this makes you jealous because it’s not yours. I do remember that night when Tony was in Iceland very fondly,” I said gently.

“Wait, what is this?” Tony asked, perking up.

“Nothing! We were both very drunk at the time and… you know what, Fred?! That is unfair deflection. You’re dating one of our lawyers?” she asked.

“No, because it’s frowned upon in company policy. We’re just… flirty,” I said, still grinning.

“Well, care to explain while she drove you home in a SHIELD car?” Tony asked.

“Did she? How would you even be able to tell that?” I asked innocently.

“JARVIS ran the car and it came back SHIELD,” he said.

The smile slipped from my face and I nodded a few times while I grabbed one of our rum bottles. I gestured for them to follow me to the den and we all sat down. I started by the first swig of the bottle and resting it on my knee.

“We need to talk, but I believe that’s apparent. JARVIS! Seal the room and no recording are to be made of any sort of this conversation. Burkle Protocol Black Out,” I announced.

“Right away ma’am. Entering Inquiry Response mode,” JARVIS said.

“Okay, talk,” Tony said. I took another swig. It wasn’t doing anything and I wasn’t feeling the burn. Damn.

“Natalie Rushman was planted into our company after SHIELD discovered, I don’t know how, that you are dying, Tony. She is here to protect our company from hostile interests,” I explained, immediately passing the bottle to Pepper. She took a long swig but I suspect it wouldn’t do much for her either. We could probably chug bottles of Everclear and not get drunk.

“You’re dying?!” she demanded angrily.

“It’s being fixed. I have faith in Fred,” Tony said in annoyance. He gestured for the bottle and Pepper nearly threw it at him. None spilled, though. Impressive control for day one. I guess the same could be said of me.

“The palladium core in the arc reactor is killing him slowly. We have been hiding this from you because when this conversation inevitably happened, we wanted to say that we had finished fixing it. All I can promise you is that I’m incredibly close,” I explained.

“Closer than you realize. You were right about my father and the Expo designs. We can use those to invent a new element that will replace the palladium core,” Tony said.

“Okay, if you two say that it’s going to be fixed I will have to trust you on it,” she stated.

“Back to Ms. Rushman, your paramour. Who is she really?” Tony asked. I paused for only a moment and realized that this was what she gave me permission for.

“She told me her name is Natasha Romanov and she is what SHIELD calls a Shadow. However, I detected a faint trace of a Russian accent. I am guessing Natasha Romanov is the… Ellis Island version. Going by her apparent age, I would have to say she was born in the USSR under the name Natalia Romanova. But that’s not confirmed. Anyway, while she is more than capable to be a lawyer, I believe her main skill set is espionage and wet work,” I said.

“And we just inherently trust a spy/assassin?” Pepper asked.

“Tony, you and Angel lost track of me in the fray that night, three days ago, right?” I asked.

“Yes. I got your phone but we had lost you,” he said, taking a rather large swig of the rum.

“She didn’t. She was on top of the crashed van and was the closest of anyone to saving me. Before you ask, no, I didn’t know that she could do that until then. I trust her implicitly. Now, my faith was rocked when I found out that she worked for SHIELD. I felt as betrayed by Fury as you do. As of now, despite my incredible bias, I think having her is a blessing,” I said.

“I know you can trust her, but can we?” Pepper asked.

“Yes. But here is the important caveat. Tell me what I am saying: her name is Natalie Rushman and she works in Legal at STI,” I stated slowly and clearly.

“Her cover cannot be blown at any cost,” Tony said.

“Right. Remember that for my safety. SHIELD has enemies and I have erroneously become a pressure point. More nights like three nights ago will happen if her cover is blown. I probably won’t be taken, but it will save my conscience from having to kill the people trying to take me,” I said.

“I get it. It’s like how and why we kept the Iron Man secret for so long,” Pepper said.

“Exactly. So, discussion over?” I asked.

“Over,” Tony said.

“Over,” Pepper said.

“JARVIS, initiate Burkle Protocol White Light,” I said.

“Protocol initiated. Systems running at peak efficiency,” JARVIS said.

“Good, I’m going to bed,” I said.

“Fred, I am overwhelmed that you’re back,” Pepper told me.

She gave me another super powered hug and kissed my cheek. We finished I walked past Tony and squeezed his shoulder to which he grabbed my hand. We exchanged a look and I finally made it out of the room. I headed straight for my bedroom. I turned on no lights and just sat on my bed. That’s when the façade started to break. That’s when the memories flooded in. I started to shake and panic. I wanted to throw up, I wanted to hide, but what I wanted most to do was scream and cry. I couldn’t bring myself to do either.

“Ma’am, you appear in distress. Should I alert Mr. Stark or Ms. Potts?” JARVIS asked. I forced myself to sit up straight.

“No, don’t do that. I’m fine, or I will be,” I said.

“Of course, ma’am,” JARVIS replied.

“Thank you, JARVIS,” I said.

“It is a pleasure to see you home again safely,” JARVIS said.

“Thank you,” I replied. I’ll be fine. I have to be. I’m Winifred Burkle and too much of the world falls onto my shoulders. I have to be fine.


	18. Too Close

As she promised, Natasha and I have been in frequent contact over the past few weeks. Nothing beyond flirty either. Seems neither of us wants to progress any further at the moment. Well, our definition of flirty implies so much more than there actually is. If I’m supposed to be dating one of our lawyers, it has to look like it. That means more lipstick smears on both of us, bite marks and hickeys on her since I can’t get them anymore, and ruffled clothes with labored breathing. By the way, it is hard to leave a hickey on someone with a version of the Super Soldier Serum in them. If I didn't have crazy near-godlike powers, I don't think I'd be able to. Acting like we’re more than flirting has become our excuse for more than flirting. By the way, it is hard to leave a hickey on someone with a version of the Super Soldier Serum in them. If I didn't have crazy near-godlike powers, I don't think I'd be able to. 

No sign of Ivan Vanko’s whereabouts but more information about him surfaced even though I managed to track down one of his known associates, Emil Blonsky. His activities have been unusual enough to warrant further investigation. Another name surfaced in connection to a number of suspicious projects and it was a name we had dealt with before: Aldrich Killian. A myth according to Tony the last time his name appeared but after a series of impossible events, I was starting to believe he really exists. Every string on my conspiracy board is coming back to him. I actually have one of those now. It’s in the lab, right next to my desk. Tony’s not too good at finding the links and Pepper is horrible at it. I was a private investigator. This is what I did for two years.

In other news, we’re getting closer and closer to inventing a new element. Which is… awesome. That’s pretty much nerd heaven. Scientists dream of doing this as the crowning achievement in their careers. This is a stepping stone in our path. I figured out what we needed: a prismatic accelerator. But that meant cleaning out the sublevels so we could set it up properly. Each thing we do is getting closer and closer to our goals. That is what we like to call forward momentum. And forward momentum doesn’t stop for anything! Well, except for bumps in the road but there aren’t any! No bumps on this road!

“JARVIS? Where’re we at?” I asked. We had completely renovated the garage in the past few weeks. We even got all those scanners and cameras installed. We finally got to that leaky sink! Tony had been designing and redesigning suits like crazy. In three weeks Tony created nine armors with many others planned. I was working on James’, and the last one being the one Tony planned on using. He was hinting at something that incorporated my Synthetic Telekinesis technology. The one that hurled things nigh uncontrollably through the air. He actually implanted the technology into his arm which is nuts. Who does that? Tony Stark, that’s who! A nut loaf if I ever knew one.

I flicked my wrist and holographic panels appeared in front of me detailing all of our open projects. All of them. That’s a lot of holographic panels. Way too many. I immediately dismissed a lot of our smaller projects that could be put off until after we solve our Vanko problem. The display developed a little bit of static so I slapped my forearm. Okay, so I implanted something in my body too despite my radical invulnerability. But it’s just a holographic display tech. Not miniaturized fake telekinesis. Mine can’t kill me. It’s incredibly unlikely that mine could kill me. Like, infinitesimally.

“Please be more specific, ma’am,” JARVIS replied. Well, crap. What do I want to know about right now? I leaned back in my swivel chair and spun a rubber band ball in my other hand. With almost no effort the skin on the back of my hand took on a bluish tint and I threw the ball all the way across the garage. It bounced off the wall and came back to my hand. The ball was starting to show some major wear and tear from doing that repeatedly.

“How about… Tony and his special armor?” I asked. I gotta know how that train wreck is progressing. JARVIS opened a holographic video panel opened up in front of me. JARVIS was playing Tony’s sleep deprived footage. Parts of his armor flew off the table and knocked him flat. Way too high velocity. It would probably help to have JARVIS program the pieces but if he wants to do it the hard way…

“As you can see, he has run into mishaps,” JARVIS said with amusement in his voice. Further development of his unique personality. I am very proud that he’s developing into such an amazing person. A great vision of the future where an AI doesn’t hafta mean some B-movie shtick killing all humans.

“Can you please provide him with my published article on Applied Quantum Physics when he works on it next? Also please insist that he uses my QMformulae program or else he might actually injure himself,” I instructed.

“Of course, ma’am. Any other inquiries?” JARVIS asked. I exhaled loudly and sat on the edge of my desk. My brain is just about as cluttered at this garage is. A threw the ball again and immediately waved my hand, making the ball slow down to a crawl as it moved across the room. That gave me the chance to rub at my temples before I had to catch it.

“What’re the results from Pepper’s and my last blood test? Everything holding? No new stabilizers needed?” I asked.

“Negative. However, an anomaly appeared in Ms. Pott’s bloodwork that warrants consideration,” JARVIS said, bringing up to the fore. As expected, the Extremis altered more than her cellular structure, it changed her base genetic code. It would be similar to radiation damage if Extremis didn’t heal away such stuff immediately. No, this was just different. She was post-human. A meta-human. Even if she was ‘cured’ of the serum, enough neurological and physiological stress could cause it to flare up again. She was super powered for the rest of her life, it would seem, and we have no way of predicting how long that will be.

“Thank you for bringing that to my attention. Anything in my bloodwork?” I asked.

“The opposite was found, in fact,” JARVIS replied. I brought it up alongside Pepper’s. It was confusing beyond all belief. My… powers seemed to have a half-life to them. A relatively long one but they would be gone within five years.

“Replicating the experiment with the proper modifications for safety would still be ill-advised, wouldn’t it?” I asked.

“You would stop Mr. Stark from doing so himself, thus I believe you should stop yourself from attempting such an experiment,” JARVIS pointed out. I sighed and closed out the two panels in front of me. I shut it all down. I would stop him from doing such an insane experiment. But I did fail to stop him from implanting the neural link in his forearm? No. I can’t stop him from anything.

Why should I stop myself from keeping what makes me strong? This is who I am now. Why shouldn’t I make it permanent? I will never, ever, be the damsel in distress. I got myself out of Hammer’s clutches. I got myself through Pylea. I am stronger. I am better than everything I come up against. I can’t and won’t go back to who I was.

“I guess I’ll just have to deal with that one down the road,” I muttered. I hopped off my desk and walked down towards the cars. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. It was more just an attempt to use physical activity to stimulate brain cells.

“It would be a ways off, it would seem,” JARVIS stated.

“Where are Tony and Pepper?” I asked.

“Mr. Stark is in Afghanistan subduing a terrorist cell of the group known as the Ten Rings. Ms. Potts is in New York finalizing the purchase of land for the Stark Tower project,” JARVIS replied.

Home alone with nothing to do… I sat on the hood of my blue Porsche. Last week’s gift from Tony. There was nothing wrong with my blue Maserati either. He just… dotes on me and Pepper now. Maybe I should go out and do something. I’m dressed nicely enough. Maybe I’ll meet up with Angel and the gang today. If I go see him it will be a normal day. If he comes to me, it will be crazy. I need to keep this a normal day. My phone rang and I instinctively transferred it to a holo-panel that followed me around. I glanced at the caller ID. It was Angel. Spoke too soon. Er, thought too soon.

“Hey, Angel. What can I do for you?” I answered pleasantly.

“Fred, where are you right now?” Angel asked urgently. See! Crazy town invading Casa de Stark.

“In the villa. Why, more thugs coming to kidnap me?” I asked cheekily.

“Ma’am, an unidentifiable target is coming up the drive. It has the appearance of a human male,” JARVIS said. I muted the call and brought up a security monitor. Male, late thirties, short cropped hair, expensive suit. Looked former military. Nothing that out of the ordinary.

“Why is he unidentifiable?” I asked. I brought up the sensors and I wasn’t sure he was human but I wasn’t sure he wasn’t.

“My sensors say he is not human and doesn’t match anything previously scanned,” JARVIS replied. Good enough for me. I unmuted the call.

“What’s coming after me?” I demanded a little harshly. Not my intention of course. I owed Angel too much to be so crass and rude to him but I’m not employed by him anymore and if I’m reading the situation correctly, he just heaped a world of trouble on me and mine.

“Marcus Hamilton. Conduit to the Senior Partners and their precious son,” he said worriedly. There was something in his voice that I didn’t recognize. He sounded weary and worse, beaten.

“What did you do to them to send them after me?” I accused of him. I haven’t been keeping in as good of touch with them since we got back from Queens but I didn’t think I was this out of the loop.

“We’re waging total war against Wolfram & Hart at the moment. Cordy’s suggestion,” he replied with a sigh. Wait. Cordy’s dead. How could she suggest anything? I know I pray to her all the time but that’s only cause I know she’s in a better place an all. Not because I think she’s an actual deity.

“Hostile target ten meters from the garage,” JARVIS announced. I sighed and walked over to our auxiliary armory. Most all of our weapons are integrated into the suits, but I have developed a few things in case Pepper or I need to be armed. Of course, that was before we became living weapons.

“Why is he coming after me?” I asked again. I drafted a lot of plans and contingencies without the necessary information to do so. Crap shoot, I’d call it.

“Because I think he’s trying to hurt me by hurting the ones I care about. Nina is safely hidden in the Hyperion. I’m headed there now. Everyone’s protecting their loved ones right now. I knew I had to call you,” he said.

“You mean I am the victim of plus-one syndrome?” I asked in shock. I didn’t realize I qualified for that. I’m usually a direct threat instead of a pressure point.

“Ma’am, hostile target is descending the ramp,” JARVIS announced. I glanced at our internal security footage. Mr. Hamilton seemed cool and collected. I think I would have preferred angry and hotheaded.

“Fred. This is serious. This may be the last time you hear from me. And if he’s coming for you… I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” Angel said quietly.

I pulled a magnesium lithium alloy tube out from the armory and spun it around on my wrist. It telescoped out to a full heavy ended quarterstaff but that wasn’t the best part. An energy blade extended from the end in the shape of a double bearded battle axe. This could cleave Iron Man open. I made it for Vanko but I’ll try it out here.

“You’re wrong, Angel, and I’m gonna prove it you,” I said softly. I grabbed a satchel off my desk and shoved a half-dozen or so Regeneris syringes into it.

“Yeah? How? There’s not much hope left for us,” he said.

“Would this guy’s head on your desk cheer you up?” I asked. A very loud knocking came from the garage door and I ended the call. The energy axe retracted to a cylinder and it dangled loosely in my hand.

“Ms. Burkle?” JARVIS asked.

“Open the door and keep IoFerro cannons on standby,” I replied steely. The rather large garage door slid apart and revealed a fit man with a strong jaw in a crisp suit. I cautiously approached him. If he was the conduit to a group as powerful as the Senior Partners at Wolfram & Hart, well, that made him extremely powerful on his own. I doubt I could win in a fair fight, but I would definitely win.

“Relax, Ms. Burkle. I’m not here to hurt you. That would be a waste of my time,” Marcus said blandly.

“Then why are you here?” I asked, trying to appear just as calm as he was. He didn’t even notice I was sizing him up for weaknesses. That’s a whole lot of ego and arrogance right there. His superiority complex would allow me to unload a number of surprises on him because he doesn’t think I’m capable.

“What, no indignant speech about how a little scientist like me could be dangerous too?” he asked mockingly.

“Are you here to waste my time?” I asked drolly.

“Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. You know him, right? I got a saucy picture here of you two kissing after that Stark gala. Then I got this picture after that of the more racy and pornographic things you two got up to in your lab. Battle must have worked your libido up. That must just stir up all kinds of warm and fuzzies. Which is good, because he’ll be dead within the hour,” he rambled on. His tone of voice was quite aggressive and malicious, but for all I knew that could be how he sounded normally. Right now he was looking at me like I owed him something.

My eyebrow twitched and my fingers tightened around the axe cylinder. I kept calm though and leveled a simple glare in response. “Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

“It’s simple. He gets brutally murdered by Cyvus Vail. Remember that name so you can find him, little girl. Cy-vus. Vail. So, Vail’s gonna kill him soon since we know that bookish Wesley is there to assassinate him. Now, it’s gonna be ugly and you’re gonna want vengeance. Vengeance is good. You’re going to go find Vail and try to kill him with some science-y thing you humans cook up and he’s gonna murder you. That will destroy Angel inside. Absolutely kill him because his beloved Winifred will be a disfigured corpse. We all know our roles now? Good. I have more important people to kill,” he finished explaining. I exhaled loudly and fully extended the axe with a flick of my wrist.

“How do you think Angel’s gonna feel after I kill you?” I asked lowly. This guy really pissed me off. Not enough to make me go blue. He doesn’t seem to know about that. I tightened my grip and the axe bounced up to ready.

“Like I said. Humans and their toys. Go ahead, first swing is on me. I guess dropping your body at his feet will hurt him just the same,” he replied.

I lashed out with a strong spinning backhand. The blade hit him right on the neck like I intended but it barely burnt his epidermis. The energy overloaded and shorted out, leaving me with a metal staff in my hands which he quickly relieved me of and tossed aside.

“That actually stung a little,” he said through gritted teeth. He threw a wild punch at me and I did what I had to. I caught it in my blue hand. Just one hand, but it took some exertion to hold it back. There was pretty extreme power behind that.

“You probably shouldn’t’ve done that,” I told him. I twisted his arm to the side and punched him in the jaw. He staggered back. That’s it. That would have knocked Iron Man flat and dented the helmet. I was right in my assessment of him. He swung at me, again without any thought or training just blind instinct, and knocked me down. Another near impossibility. I rolled backwards to my feet and dropped into a basic defensive stance. I gotta get him off-guard. I need him to think I’m in over my head. Unless, of course, I am. Then I should probably run.

“You’re not what everyone thinks you are. What dimension are you from? Or are you one of those Deeper Well freakshows that claw their way back into existence?” he asked, his voice full of snark. Before I could answer he rushed me. I had to sidestep him and spin kick him in the head. He hit the ground hard enough to daze him.

“You already said. I’m just one of those science-y types,” I replied coldly. He rolled over and got to his feet. He seemed alright after all. Great. This was about to become a rough and tumble, alright.

“Amazing. Wouldn’t take you to be a scrapper with the short skirt and the pretty blouse. I’d hate to mess it up,” he taunted me. After complimenting me, which was weird. That wasn’t sarcastic. He was actually impressed. Marcus lunged at me and caught me by surprise. I took a few hits to the jaw and stomach before I could respond.

The fight had devolved into a brutal boxing match. I was holding out better than him but he fought like an animal and I wasn’t the best martial artist. I really needed to get properly trained. I took a few steps back and he charged again. With a sidestep he crashed into the wall and I followed with a leaping hammer strike to the back of his head, driving him face first through the wall. I jumped back and waited for my dazed bull to charge once more. He stumbled forward towards me. Predictable, the longer the fight went on.

He grabbed me by the throat and pulled me into a very dangerous headlock. The kind that could tear my head from my shoulders. I struggled but he had me secure in his grip. I should have seen that coming. The Mark XL, dubbed Shotgun for its power, stepped off its pedestal and flew at Marcus, pulling him off me and throwing him into one of Tony’s cars. It let off a full unibeam charge from its overpowered chest RT node and blasted him into the wall. Marcus seemed sufficiently dazed now. It would buy us a few seconds.

“Ms. Burkle, are you alright?” JARVIS asked from inside the suit. He helped me up and I rubbed my neck gingerly.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. My body shifted out of my blue form and I staggered. Shotgun caught me and helped me upright.

“My diagnostic protocol detects cracked bones, deep muscle contusions, and a few pugilistic lacerations,” JARVIS explained.

“Oh, is that it? I feel much worse,” I said wearily.

“You don’t think you are going to win this, do you? We are legion, we are forever. The power of the Senior Partners flows through my veins. It is in my very blood,” Marcus stated.

Marcus pushed himself up and threw the Ferrari out of the way. I went blue again and picked myself up. Shotgun hit him with another unibeam but it only staggered him this time. I saw the opportunity. I knew exactly what we had to do to end this.

“Contain!” I called out. All the IoFerro cannons in the lab auto-targeted and fired repeatedly, encasing him from the chest down in containment fluid. Apparently even he couldn’t break out of that. He struggled and struggled but to no avail. It seems my alterations to the chemical integrity of the fluid was worth it. Kinda frightened me because that meant it would work on me and I know JARVIS already figured that out. Luckily he’s on my side. JARVIS seemed to write him off too, because Shotgun returned to his pedestal and powered down.

“It doesn’t matter. You can’t save your boyfriend. You can’t save yourself. I’m going to rip your head off your shoulders and use your spine as a javelin!” Marcus ranted.

The man seemed overly fond of words. But seeing as he said my Wesley’s life is danger and I can’t risk wasting any more time. I flicked my wrist and time slowed to a crawl. Marcus’ labored breathing and heavy thrashing ground to a near halt. I exhaled and stretched out my limbs, letting everything pop back into place. I pulled a Regeneris syringe modified for my physiology and relaxed enough to jam it into my thigh. Instant relief flooded through me. I am so glad these still work. I approached him from behind and gripped him by the hair on the back of his head. Time sped up and he started moving at the right pace again.

“Thank you for the ingenious idea,” I said flatly. I twisted violently and broke his neck. His body fell limp in the containment fluid. With vicious yank and my foot planted firmly on his back, his entire blackened spine ripped free. It was messy. Oily cerebrospinal fluid flew everywhere and that was on top of the blood. He was definitely not human at all. I coiled it up with the attached head and stored it in my satchel. I used the empty Regeneris vial to draw out a syringe of his blood. He said the power runs in his veins. Angel’ll like this. I put it in my satchel with the other vials.

“I have located Mr. Cyvus Vail for you,” JARVIS announced. Dummy and our other limited intelligence robots converged on the corpse.

“Send the location to the Mark XIV suit. I’ll be using it,” I said, becoming me again. I wasn’t cold or unfeeling anymore but I was still driven and angry.

I walked over to the Hall of Armors and dropped the fairly heavy satchel at the gunmetal suit’s feet. The suit opened up for me and I turned around, allowing it to envelope me and then seal tight. The HUD came online and immediately recognized the different user. All the preferences changed to fit me and the way I think.

“Directions will appear once you clear the driveway,” JARVIS said through the internal speakers. I picked up the satchel and looped it across my armored chest.

“I’m making a brief stop at the Hyperion first,” I said. I took off flying with practiced ease and whipped up the curved driveway and into the sky.


	19. Broken Circle

I touched down in the Hyperion courtyard but my attention was on the marker for Cyvus Vail’s mansion. I needed to make this quick or I’d only find a corpse. As promised, I was here on a delivery. The gauntlet on the Mark XIV suit opened up to let my hand out to pull the three Regeneris vials out of the gory satchel. A repository on my forearm opened up. It was normally used for the small anti-tank missiles Tony favored but I could easily use it to store the injectors. The suit acknowledged the change in equipment and reconfigured the programming for it. I sealed everything back up and stepped into the lobby.

Angel came out of the office with a heavily modified crossbow in hand. A bolt from that couldn’t penetrate the armor, but it would stick into the plating if only barely. He immediately lowered it and jumped over the counter. A very attractive blonde woman edged her head out of the office. That must be Nina. I never got to meet her earlier. Angel certainly has a type, but she is curvier than Buffy. Physically, at least, I like Nina better.

“Stark?” he asked cautiously. I shook my head and the face plate slid up. He looked visibly relieved.

“I’m in a hurry. I need to get to Cyvus Vail before he kills Wesley. I swung by to drop this off,” I said, holding up the satchel. I gave him only a second before I tossed it to him. He gagged at the smell. Vampire senses would go off like crazy from that.

“Is this…?” he asked. He opened the flap and gagged again. I smirked at him expectantly.

“That an a little more. He gave me the idea. He said that his power was derived from his blood. I put a syringe of it in the bag for you,” I replied.

“Marcus was a child of the Senior Partners. They won’t be happy about this,” he said.

“If Wesley dies, I won’t be happy,” I informed him.

The face plate slid closed and I walked out of the lobby. The moment the path was clear above me I took to the skies. My HUD retagged my destination. I performed a wide arc and went into hard burn the moment I passed the apex. I easily broke the sound barrier and cleared the short distance to the mansion.

The diagnostic and scanning software in the sensors created a digital map of the mansion. The lower levels, the first floor and the basement, were teaming with vital signs both human and demon. There was a large room, like a dining hall, on the second level that took up most of the east wing. In it only two vital signs. One demon and one human. The human one was faint. I brought up an exothermic scanner and saw massive heat signatures all over the room. That was enough prep for me.

I shot down like a bullet and broke through the ceiling, landing in Tony’s signature fist down Iron Man pose. The floor cracked apart and sent pristine woodwork tiling flying into the air. Scanners identified Wesley and how injured he was. I exited the suit with a Regeneris vial in hand. With a short sprint and a slide I dropped down next to his body. Luckily he was still alive. He turned his head to me and smiled. The poor man looked thrashed. He was radiating heat, probably from some magical fireball.

“Fred… you’re here,” Wesley said weakly. I stroked the side of his unshaven face and smiled at him. I didn’t even realize that seeing him like this brought me to tears until they slid off my cheeks onto him.

“My Wesley… my sweet Wesley...” I said gently. A pained look went across his face and I softly shushed him and made him lay still.

“I am afraid this is where we part…” he whispered. I shook my head fervently, revealing the crystal clear blue vial in my hand.

“Lay still. Everything will be alright. I promise,” I told him, noting Cyvus Vail approaching from behind. I discreetly injected the Regeneris into his thigh and watched the wounds immediately start to close up. Wesley stayed absolutely still just as I asked but his eyes moved so he was looking behind me. I rose up and turned around, my body shaking with anger. Cyvus Vail was a geriatric demon if I ever saw one. His wrinkled blood red skin looked like it might just fall off the bone. Another idea.

“It is a pity that someone as talented as him died so futilely. He never stood a chance against me. But look at you, quivering with rage. You wish for revenge for your slain man? Very well, I’ll let you take your best shot, little girl,” he said mockingly.

I came at him with a right hook. Everything from the moment Marcus Hamilton knocked on the garage to right now fueled this hit. Cyvus’ eyes widened almost comically as I turned blue and my fist broke through the bones in his face and came out the back of his head, utterly demolishing his skull. His lifeless body flopped to the floor. It occurred to me that since I became this… new version of me I have committed three heinous kills and felt nothing about it. Nothing.

“Once again, you have done what I could never do,” Wesley said as he pushed himself to his feet. As I turned back to him the blue faded away and I smiled softly.

“Maybe I have done what you shouldn’t have had to attempt on your own,” I suggested. He walked gingerly to me, clearly feeling the skeletal pain from creating that much blood that quickly.

“Angel’s plan was a long shot, that much is sure, but it was necessary. If each of us succeeds, we will have cut off Wolfram & Hart in our dimension. I’m ashamed that I could have cost us that victory,” he said. I frowned and crossed my arms in front of me. He knew immediately that he had misspoke.

“What is everyone else responsible for?” I asked tersely.

“Gunn is assassinating Senator Helen Brucker and all her vampire guards. Spike is eradicating the Fell Brethren. Lindsay MacDonald and Lorne are eliminating the Sahrvin Clan. Leaving Angel to eliminate Izzerial and the three human members of the Circle,” he explained.

“What about Marcus Hamilton?” I asked.

“Angel felt that we needed a united front to kill a child of the Senior Partners. How do you know of him?” he asked.

“I… I killed him when he told me that he arranged your death at Vail’s hand,” I admitted. I suddenly felt ashamed of my violent actions. I didn’t want to see him judge me for what I did.

“Then that will be everyone. I’m honestly surprised we succeeded. The Circle of the Black Thorn was responsible for the start of Wolfram & Hart’s apocalypse,” he said.

“The one they keep going on about?” I asked.

“The very same. With the Circle destroyed and Hamilton dead, Wolfram & Hart will have lost their hold on this plane of existence,” he said.

“Somehow I don’t see it going as easily. I need to get in contact with a few people,” I said nervously.

“I should return to the Hyperion. That is to be our meeting spot after we complete our task. Thank you again for saving me, Fred,” Wesley said. I kissed his cheek and nodded. He disappeared into thin air with a quick teleportation spell. I sighed and brought up a number of holographic screens with contact information. I tapped Angel’s caller tab.

“Fred? Wes just got here. He said you took care of Cyvus Vail,” Angel said. Of course he did. Wesley was the model of efficiency. They were probably the first words out of his mouth upon arrival.

“How’s everything over there?” I asked.

“I didn’t get Izzerial. He escaped. Could you use your supercomputer or something and track his car down? We have to take him out or everything was for nothing,” he said urgently.

“I’m on it. I’ll come by afterwards,” I said.

“Thanks,” Angel said as he hung up.

“JARVIS, I need a location on the devil Izzerial. He’s in his car. Also, can you take the Mark XIV back home? I’m sorry to ask such a chore of you but there is a lot going on right now,” I said apologetically.

“Of course, Ms. Burkle. Izzerial is stopped in a deserted intersection at Overland and West Pico in West Los Angeles. He is driving a blue 1972 Lincoln town car. I have frozen the light sequence so he will remain there,” JARVIS said from inside the Mark XIV. The suit closed up and took off.

I exhaled noisily and cracked my neck again. This was feeling like one of our bad days at Angel Investigations. Chaos, chaos, and more chaos with a side of the end of the world. This time I had a front row seat to the battle because I wasn’t a liability anymore. Focus. This time I didn’t need to wave my hand or make any gestures. Time stopped because I willed it to. And this wasn’t time dilation. It was time stoppage. I could feel it on a cellular level. It actually kinda felt like the moment before you pull the wax off somewhere sensitive. A little tingle, a little apprehension, and the expectation of a great deal of pain.

People’s expressions in a time stop are bizarre. The doorman at the mansion was in the middle of the sneeze. I could actually see the snot hanging in midair. I couldn’t linger in one spot too long. Nothing moved but me, meaning the air in a single area grew stale quickly even though I wasn’t sure I needed to breathe all that much.

I moved rapidly southward to West LA. I found it easiest to move through the middle of the street instead of the sidewalks. Less things to dodge. Because of my speed and my stamina, I was at the intersection in… well, a relatively short duration of my… existence. Judging the passage of time when time doesn’t pass is actually a really difficult thing to describe. We generally need to use minutes or days to use as reference marks because time is the one true constant in existence. I don’t have those right now. I simply… dance between the atmospheric molecules.

Look at me, waxing poetic and completely nerding out when I’m on my way to my third assassination in a row today. I skidded to a stop in the middle of the intersection. The blue Lincoln was stalled right next to the Macy’s. Inside, a red skinned devil with very long and pointy horns. I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to tangle with him. I knew nothing about him and he looked tough. Wait… didn’t Angel tell me once he played racquetball with this guy? This just got… odd. I don’t know any racquetball quips.

I approached his car and relaxed. Time roared back to life and kinda electrocuted me in the process. Makes sense from all the chronal energy I was holding back to make that happen as well as the agitated tachyons. Izzerial jumped out of his seat in shock and tried to floor it. The car collided with my legs and didn’t go any farther. I’ll admit, grasping and coming to terms with the ability to manipulate time is relatively easy. Grasping the fact that I just got hit by a car and the bumper crumpled around my legs, that was harder to swallow. Izzerial became more unnerved and terrified the longer I stared at him in this blue form.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

“Illyria,” I replied bluntly.

I punched through the metal hood and grabbed the engine block in my hand. With a great pull, it ripped free and I threw it aside, letting it bounce to the middle of the intersection. The machine sputtered and died without any kind of power source. He struggled to get out of his little tomb but I picked up the car with one hand and slammed it down on its roof repeatedly. Just to make sure the job was done I jumped up onto the underbelly and pressed it into the ground. He was dead to be sure. I just had to call it in.

“Angel? I took care of Izzerial and I’m on my way back,” I said.

“Fred, I’d hurry. Something big is going down around the Hyperion. I don’t think the Senior Partners are happy with us. We better form…” Angel cut out. That kind of sound only comes from sudden interference on the channel.

“JARVIS, what’s going on at the Hyperion?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I've lost satellite access and without a suit in the vicinity I have no direct situational awareness,” JARVIS replied.

“I’ll be there in a moment. Just send a suit. Send the Mark XLI,” I instructed.

“Right away, ma’am,” JARVIS stated.

I didn’t slow down time at all. I figured I’d need that trick later and I wouldn’t want to tire myself out. Instead, I just started sprinting the moment I heard sirens coming. I cleared a good distance before I saw the Mark XLI in the air. The fast moving application protocols that Tony and I wrote require that the arms be spread eagle, mostly because of the possibility that a suit be required midair, so that the suit could properly adhere to the body. The tricky part here would be my fast moving legs but I’m certain JARVIS’ analytics could handle that. I was running evenly with routine motions, eliminating much of the guesswork. Not that JARVIS guesses at anything ever.

The black and gold skeletal armor encompassed me and lifted me into the air just as an earthquake hit. I took off flying over Los Angeles and watched the buildings shaking underneath me. The scanners picked up massive tectonic disturbances all over the city but not past the city limits. None detected at the villa either. If that didn’t say unnatural, I don’t know what would.

“JARVIS, any idea what’s causing this?” I asked but there was no response.

I flipped over in midair and deployed the flaps to bring me to a hovering stop above the city. I forgot we hadn’t tested the ocular LoS command system until now. JARVIS had never failed until now. I swapped screens to the left everything went from sky blue to green. Hundreds of graphs appeared in my HUD. I filtered for energy readings and everything was off the charts. I won’t even pretend that I understand what it all meant seeing as I’ve never seen anything quite like it before. But I would wager a guess that the massive energy spikes would be what caused JARVIS’ communication blackout. I’d also wager that there wasn’t a signal going in or out of Los Angeles right now.

The sky started to darken and rain started to fall. The only problem was it was still daytime outside of Los Angeles and there wasn’t any clouds to produce the rain. This was bad on an epic scale. The last time I saw this happen the Beast was running amuck and Cordy had an evil goddess bodyjacking her. I flew downward towards the Hyperion.

My sensors began to falter and then my HUD started to short out and all I could see was the unfiltered view though the face plate. Ice began to form of the armor, another impossibility due to the record setting heat that was settling in and we solved this problem last year! Our suits don’t ice up! The thrusters cut out and I turned into a metal projectile flying toward the Hyperion. The suit lacks outer plating so the actual pistons and movement enabling mechanisms had frozen. Brute force was required to free the suit up. I managed to build up enough heat in freefall for the engines to kick in but I didn’t have my HUD. I thrashed and it shot me up the middle of the Hyperion’s U shaped structure. The repulsors cut out one more time and I flailed enough to fix that. Only it rocketed me towards the wall and I crashed right though the mortar and drywall, leaving me in a lump on a bed.

My old bed in my old room.

This felt familiar.


	20. Not Fade Away

My old room at the Hyperion, now complete with a person shaped hole in the wall... again. I groaned and forcibly raised my hand to my head to pull off the helmet. I let my head fall back on the concrete dusted mattress. I lacked any mechanical advantage from my dead suit so I had to move it myself. Not hard at all because of my strength level but I was running the risk of breaking the suit. Tony and I had spent too much time building this suit for me to just wreck it. I’ll be careful and just get down to the lab in the basement. One step at a time.

Screw it.

I sat up suddenly, causing all the stuck bits in the torso and back to creak and crack and break. I didn’t have time to play nice with my toys. I reached over and tore off the limbs. Next came the chest piece. Then the legs and I was finally free. I hopped off the bed and looked around. It was definitely my old room. I had left some stuff behind when I moved in with Tony and Pepper, but I didn’t expect it to still be here.

Angel left everything as it was. All the way down to the leather pants and the blue halter top that Faith gave me. I had forgotten about them. The Fred that lived here would have never worn such a… well, I’d have called it slutty and skanky at the time. Now, I’m used to the clingy clothes and the look-at-this attitude thanks to Tony’s shopping sprees. My closet has a bit of that. I could definitely rock that and an old pair of boots in my closet.

I finished changing, turned blue and super leapt out the hole in the wall into the rain. I came down in the courtyard between Angel and Spike. They weren’t surprised by my entrance at all. Actually, Spike laughed at me. Hard. He looked pretty roughed up from his fight with the Fell Brethren. I glared at him and he at least stifled his laughter.

“Beautiful landing, pet. I would’ve thought you could fly one of those better,” he said sarcastically.

“Silence. Something shut off all technology when they encapsulated the city. The same something that blotted out our sun and… I don’t think we are in our own dimension anymore,” I said evenly.

I just spotted something. Two somethings. It was 6:30 when the sun went out and that put it yea-degrees above the horizon. There was a red sun and a bright blue full moon that together cast an eerie purple glow on everything. Neither a natural cosmic phenomenon for our world. Angel and Spike followed my gaze and grunted. That’s it. Grunted. They witness impossible cosmic phenomenon and they grunt. Cavemen! The both of them!

“That ain’t something you see every day, eh Toto?” Spike said to Angel.

“Spike!” Angel replied warningly.

“Boys! What’s our plan?” I asked, cutting them off.

“Your plan is you’re gonna head inside like good champions of mine.”

That voice. It couldn’t be. She died after the whole Jasmine fiasco. Right? I remember her dying! I spun around and saw Cordelia in the gorgeous flesh standing there on the steps. She was also completely dry even though she was standing in the rain. That is not fair and not right. Why is it that her and her ample cleavage always get the good outfits and the good luck? Mystical pregnancy and coma notwithstanding. I couldn’t help it. I gasped and ran to her, hugging her tightly.

“Cordy!” I exclaimed.

“Hey, Fred. Love the new blue ‘do,” she replied. I pulled away and pushed some of the blue hair back behind my ear. She was still dry by the way. So unfair.

“You’re here. How?” I asked.

“Queenie’s a Higher Power now,” Spike answered for her.

“Legitimately this time,” Angel clarified for me.

“The other Powers owed me for the Jasmine stunt. Big time. Enough that I leveraged them for my own stake. I do what we always do. Help the helpless. And to do that, I act through my champions,” Cordy explained.

“You have champions?” I asked.

“Of course I do. I have you, I have Fang 1 and Fang 2 over there. I got Gunn, Wes, and Lorne. I’m still trying to convince the old Sunnydalers to sign onto my bandwagon. They’re holdouts, of course,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Me?” I asked. Cordy tapped my cheek lightly and gave me a sarcastic smile.

“You prayed to me. Who do you think saved you in that test chamber? Gave your serum that last little boost to help you survive? Everything else has been up to you, Illyria,” she said knowingly.

“I haven’t told anyone I was actually going to go by that name,” I said.

“You told Izzerial right before you turned him into auto wreckage,” she pointed out.

“We should get inside, looks like Charlie-boy’s recovering,” Spike said, standing on his tip toes and looking over our heads.

“What happened to Charles?” I asked immediately. I still felt very protective of him. And of Wes. And of Angel. And Spike. And Lorne. I think I’m just very protective of the people I designate as MINE. Cordy looked at me knowingly and tapped me on the nose, effectively claiming me as HERS.

She put her arm around my waist, making me lose my blue and relax immediately. She led me inside right behind the boys. The inside of the Hyperion looked like a triage center. It looked ready for war and well equipped to work without technology. Crystals everywhere and paint circles across everything. This place was glyphed and warded against all kinds of baddies. I approved.

The people, however, I thought less of. Front and center tending to Charles’ wounds was Miss Sparky. The electric skank Gwen Raiden. I refuse to admit that we were basically wearing the same thing except her color was red and I was blue. I noted the empty Regeneris syringe next to him and then I noted that Gwen was wearing long red gloves again. Technology failure meant the bio-regulator on her back was nothing but a piece of metal hardwired in her spine. Must make it hard to move freely. I’ll admit I felt a bit of sympathy for her because of that. Nothing I could do, really.

“Charles, what happened to you?” I asked worriedly, heading over to him. Gwen and I briefly glared at each other. Charles, like always, seemed oblivious to our spat.

“Took out Senator Brucker with a thrown hatchet to the head. You know how I roll, girl,” Charles replied, a little loopy still. He shook it off and just grinned at me. I wasn’t amused. I was impressed with that hatchet throw, sure, but he had a lot of blood stain on his clothes and probably lost a few pints.

“Then what happened?” I said sternly.

“She had about thirty vamps working for her. Had to fight my way out. Got kinda ugly along the way. I didn’t think I’d make it until Nina busted out the first aid kit stocked with your liquid miracle,” he replied. Wesley walked over with a warm smile on his face.

“It would appear that whether directly or indirectly, you saved a lot of lives today,” Wes said.

The lobby doors banged open and a group of teenagers led by a vaguely familiar blonde. I think I saw Charles talking to her in the courtyard once. The woman ushered the teens in and it was then that I noticed the handgun in her hand. That says a lot about the situation outside. Charles practically jumped up.

“Anne! I thought you said you were holding down the fort at your shelter?” he asked worriedly. She sighed and did a quick head count of her kids before coming over to him.

“Nicholas got raked by something on the way over. He needs first aid. I think it’s still following us,” Anne said wearily. She seemed exhausted but was all business.

“Fred, you have any of that blue stuff that got me on my feet?” he asked me. I inspected the wound from afar and saw it really only needed basic first aid.

“Charles, that stuff is for mortal wounds. He only needs a patch job,” I admitted. Wesley grabbed the first aid kit off the desk and brought it over to the boy.

“Fred, if you could make sure nothing nasty makes it way in here,” Wesley suggested. I rolled my eyes but planned on doing as he asked. That seemed like a tall order right now. Spike tossed me a battle axe and I was out the door. Shouldn’t this be the vampires’ job? Once upon a time, wasn’t this the vampires’ job? You go through one scientific mutation that turns you into a blue sociopathic monster and suddenly you’re in charge of killing everything. Sure, I wasn’t a pacifist or anything, but I wasn’t a gunslinging killer or whatever!

Tracking the demon was pretty easy considering Nicholas left a blood trail. The beast was something between a durslar and a drokken. It wasn’t pretty, regardless. It snarled at me and I swung my axe with just about everything I had. The blade shattered against the side of its face and the wooden haft exploded into a thousand splinters. It swung and tore through a bit of the leather on my thigh. No blood though. This thing is a lot tougher than most of the demons we run into. Still, it needed to go. I kicked it in the chest hard enough to send it flying into the building across the street. It didn’t get up after that. To make sure I pulled out the bus stop sign and threw it like a javelin, impaling it to the ground. I returned inside, dismissing the blue.

“Done,” I said calmly.

“You’re wounded,” Anne said worriedly, reaching for the tear on my leg. I gave a friendly and gentle, but still dismissive smile and shake of my head.

“You’re not human,” Nina said as she exited the office. There was something really different about her than the last time we met, which was only an hour ago I realized. Feral demeanor. Morphed digits into animalistic claws. Very bestial sensuality. Oh… I got it. Angel said she’s a werewolf, but she didn’t seem to be the standard fare. She would be much more hound like under the effects of this mystical full moon but she isn’t. The mystical sun must be mitigating the effects. Interesting.

“Neither are you. Lycanthropus Exeteus, right?” I asked. She straightened up, almost like I was challenging her. I was definitely correct in my assessment.

“What of it?” she asked.

Cordelia interrupted the little territory staking by coming over and directing me away from Nina. She led me over to the stairs.

“We need to talk about your fighting strategy,” Cordy said.

“I’m an indestructible tank. What’s wrong?” I asked dryly.

“Where we’re going, you won’t be indestructible. Everything there is tougher than Marcus Hamilton was and I know he beat some blood out of you before the end,” she pointed out. I didn’t want to admit to anything, so I went for the redirect.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’re going to take Angel and me to the extradimensional private offices of the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart,” she said calmly.

“I’m sorry, how am I doing that?” I asked.

“It’s more latent untapped potential brought about by your transformation. We can’t really wait around for you to figure it out, so I’m going to use you like a puppet and open a portal for us,” she answered simply enough. Oh. That’s all.

“You sure Jasmine is fully gone from you, Cordy?” I asked.

“Not even funny, Fred,” she replied.

“What’s the plan after we get there?” I asked.

“We kill the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart,” she stated. Cordy sat on the stairs and gestured for me do to the same. I sat down beside her and for the first time today she looked nervous. “It’s a lot more complicated than that. The three of us need to slay the three of them simultaneously or it will be pointless.”

“So, one each. Who takes on who?” I asked.

“Once again, not that simple,” she stated again.

“Why not? One each,” I replied.

“Fine, I kill the Wolf, Angel gets the Ram, and you get the Hart,” she said tersely.

“See, that simple,” I said.

“Do you even know how to kill it?” she asked.

“No, but you’re the one with the plan,” I replied.

“I got Angel a sword a few weeks ago. It took some doing to get it past customs but he now holds the Irish version of Excalibur. It’s called Caladbolg and my friends on Asgard assure me it can put an end to one of these entities,” Cordelia explained, her hands made the motion of drawing a sword from its sheath and a very pretty katana appeared in her hands.

“That’s your toy?” I asked.

“This toy cost me six favors to three different Powers. And a time fold! I had to go back to the Kamakura period to get the swordsmith Masamune to make me a sword with an Asgardian crystal imbedded in the steel. We argued for three weeks over whether it not was possible and he was making it the entire time! Finally he held up the finished sword and said: huh, guess so,” Cordelia ranted.

“So, I’m supposed to do what, strangle my mark or just bludgeon it to death?” I asked bluntly. I was kinda built for either. I’ve never strangled a demonic lower order stag before, though. Or even seen one. Would its body have the proportionate body strength and physical nature of a giant hart or is this just something I can file under demon and stop thinking about it? I really should document different demonic physiologies because I’d hate for that to be on a test one day.

“That’s why this is complicated. Some demons are just immune to pedestrian weaponry. You need something like mine or like Angel’s,” Cordelia explained.

“Gee, Cor, I don’t think I can just invent something mystically awesome. I’m more super-science,” I replied.

“I know. That’s why I found one for you,” Cordelia said drolly.

“And you’re pausing for dramatic effect?”

“Odin…”

“You mean the Odin of Norse Mythology?”

“Yes, that Odin. Because of how dangerous my mission is, he promised you the mighty axe Helswath.”

“Great! Where is it?”

“It’s in the Private Offices of the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart.”

“Oh, complicated.”

Spike strolled up the stairs with a bloodied sword on his shoulder. It wasn’t human blood, I could tell that because it was blue. Other than that, he just seemed to be the same bad boy vampire that I might have a small innocent crush on. Nothing big or anything, just… I like a bad boy/girl. I have a type.

“You bints gonna chime in at any moment? Doesn’t feel right having our two heaviest hitters on the bench having a chat,” Spike stated.

“I know you didn’t just call us fat,” Cordy said with a huff.

“What? No! Course I didn’t. Lived in a house of Slayerettes. Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied easily.

“Good. Now get together everyone can fight, except Angel, and start fanning out from the Hyperion. You find an innocent, you bring them back to keep the safe,” Cordy instructed.

“The city’s full of lambs for the slaughter. Where we gonna put em?” Spike asked.

“This is a hotel. There’s room,” Cordy said bluntly.

“Right, battle of the century and what are you two and the poof doing?” he asked.

“Ending the battle of the century,” Cordy responded.

“Um, it’s 2003, the century just started. I’m sure there will be bigger battles than this,” I said.

“Right. Best of to both of you. And Angel. Bring him back in one peace, yeah?” he said before heading back down into the lobby. Aw, that’s cute. He does care about Angel whether he’ll admit it or not. He exchanged a few words with Angel and sent him our way.

“Everyone’s back except Lindsey. Lorne said that after they scratched off the Sahrvin Clan some vortex appeared over Lindsey and sucked him away. Where do we need to be?” Angel asked, Irish magical sword on his shoulder. It was dripping blue, too.

“Tragic. Three blocks thataway. One of those mystical ley lines. We get there and I make us jump the transdimensional firebreak,” Cordy said, standing up. I joined them and stepped in front of them.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. We just lost somebody and you two are way too casual about it. Who’s Lindsey? I’ve been dying to ask that all day,” I asked.

“Wolfram & Hart’s golden boy lawyer until he bailed on them and went to go find himself,” Cordy replied.

“Should’ve stayed gone. Never liked him,” Angel added.

“I figured since you chopped off his hand,” Cordy said sarcastically.

“And you’re just fine that someone took him?” I asked in disbelief.

“He was always looking for the moment to stake me. I’ll put it like that,” Angel said.

“Good riddance to bad trash,” Cordy added.

“He can’t be all bad. You relied on him to get a job done. A violent one that you sent Lorne on, meaning this Lindsey guy is doing the heavy lifting,” I pointed out.

“Lindsey might have been a good apple at heart but once you make enough bad turns in your life, even the core can rot,” Cordy said.

Wesley ran back up to us while feeding shells into his shotgun. He looked very shaken, to say the least. “Demons have taken most of the streets. We’re now trenched in. Spike said you three were going somewhere. If so, get ready for a fight,” Wes said. Now that his message was delivered he made his way back to the front doors.

The roar of a dragon came from somewhere behind the Hyperion. Cordy, Angel, and I exchanged glances. They readied their swords and I turned blue. “Demons running amuck in Hell A. It’s not going to be easy to get to our hotspot,” Cordy pointed out.

“Then its good I wish to do more violence,” I replied.

“I call the dragon,” Angel said with a smirk.


	21. The Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart

The portal opened up and deposited us in an old stone corridor. It looked like it had seen a lot better days or even years. My forearm burned so I smacked it, making a number of holographic panels appear detailing way too much information. All the scanning tech I had was on the fritz. But, hey! Tech was working again.

“Moment,” I said, making Angel and Cordy turn back to me.

“Really? Now?” Angel asked.

“Who got us through the horde of demons with her bare hands? Oh yeah, me. I deserve a moment,” I said scathingly while mentally manipulating the screens to focus down and organize the information. After all, JARVIS wasn’t here to help me at all.

“What is it you’re doing?” Cordy asked.

“Short answer? Attuning my programs to this pocket dimension,” I replied, dumping close to a hundred smaller screens.

“Long answer?” Angel asked.

“Never ask for the long answer from her, Angel! Haven’t you learned anything over the past few years?” Cordy replied.

I rolled my eyes and focused on fixing my scanning equipment. First thing up was a map, both logistical and geological, detailing the dimension we were in. Next was biodata on Angel and Cordy, both making me reasonably sure they were okay. His body was under a bit of pugilistic stress from our fight to the portal. Hers was... I don't know. It's hard to understand a Higher Power's biodata. Last was the telescopic zoom feature on anything I pointed at. Like the back of Cordy’s head or a crack in the wall. Everything was clunking and cumbersome without JARVIS’s guiding hand.

“There’s a coliseum or just an arena up ahead. I can pretty much guarantee it’s a trap,” I commented.

“Right. Figured this would happen. I grab a few champions to help me out, they would’ve done the same. Probably handpicked them to counter you two. Doubt they did that good of a job,” she replied smugly.

Angel, Cordy, and I headed up the immediate staircase to a crumbling arena in the middle of a crumbling city. A whole world, dead and lost to the ravages of time or Lower Powers. Except for a very modern looking skyscraper sticking out of the skyline ahead. Reminded me a little of Wolfram & Hart’s building in LA. Just taller and thinner and not at all lopsided like the LA one.

The old metal portcullis dropped down behind us to block our alleged escape. I was pretty sure I could lift it no problem. It was all theatrics. Inside the arena were countless skeletons on an uneven terrain. The shallower portions were devoid of any bones and all had small grates at their lowest points. That was a warning sign. This place was going to fill with something very caustic.

The far gate opened up and I could see a man covered in glowing glyphs all over his body. He had a longsword in his hand and he was looking ready to kill. More worrisome was the beast that crawled behind him. It was like someone cross-bred a den of snakes with a barrel of crab. It was a snapping, biting, screeching mess.

“I see the controls for the gates,” I told Angel and Cordy. I pointed at them and watched them follow my arm to where I was indicating. A holo-panel appeared with a close up on the controls and a 3D rendering of the mechanism.

“Cordy, get us out of here,” Angel said. Cordy disappeared. I mean flat out vanished into the wind. She appeared on my holo-panel and started working on getting the gate open. I dismissed the tech and focused on the Senior Partners’ champions.

“Which one do you want?” I asked him.

“You were wondering who Lindsey was? That’s Lindsey,” Angel said coldly, pointing to the man approaching us. I brought up a panel and it closed in on him. Shaggy hair, dressed like an urban cowboy, and had glowing glyphs and actual fire coming from his eyes. He was grinning and pointing his sword right at us. More accurately, right at Angel.

“That’s your way of telling me that I’m taking the beast?” I asked sarcastically.

“Have fun,” Angel said. He pulled an archaic blade from the skeleton next to him and tossed it to me.

Great, that left me with the freak of demonic nature. Considering I just turned blue and was prepared to slow time to assault it, perhaps I shouldn’t be so liberal in the use of the term freak of nature. Everything slowed to a crawl and I sprinted at it. I could feel the temporal energy gathering around me like when I had stopped time but this time I realized that it could be added to an initial strike, greatly multiplying the physical force exerted on the target. Realizing that was like a demon hunter geek-gasm. I was ecstatic to try delivering such a hit.

The fight was over in less than a minute with hacked off pincers and tentacle things all around me. I kicked it all into one of the pits and sure it enough, it filled with some highly potent acid. They all did, making this arena infinitely more dangerous. I turned to watch Angel get run through by Lindsey. Still, it didn’t seem to get him dusted and I knew better to get involved. I was mad, sure. All this defeatism his was putting off finally put him on the wrong end of a blade.

“Oh?! Who is this? Who is this?!” Lindsey declared mockingly. He backhanded Angel to the ground, putting him perilously close to the acid pools. Cordy appeared beside me and teleported me to the gate console.

“I can’t get this thing working. It’s mostly tech, and let’s face it, that’s my weak point,” Cordy told me. I projected the holo-panel with Lindsey and Angel’s fight on it right in front of us as I got to work on the mechanism. The thing was fairly straightforward if you have a masters in engineering. It wasn’t an Iron Man armor for crying out loud.

“I came to fight the vampire with a soul! One last grudge match in this here arena! Winner take all! It’s either you or me walking out of here and I’m gonna be honest with ya, it’s gonna be me. I’ve been watching you tail spin for months! All the little things breaking you down until what? Where’s that fire in your heart? Now all you got in there’s that big honking sword! How’s that feel, champ?!” Lindsey said proudly.

“It could be worse if it was made out of wood, dumbass!” Angel spat out, ripping the blade from his chest and throwing it behind him. The blade tumbled through the air and stuck into the ground just a few meters from the gate. Angel started pummeling Lindsey with his fists, becoming more of the champion that saved me in Pylea than I’ve seen in a long time. I guess fighting his old nemesis was enough to get him back on his feet.

“Got it, gate’s open,” I told Cordy. She patted me on the back in congratulations but my focus was on the fight. Angel had him on his knees and was punching him repeatedly in his face. Every time Lindsey tried to get back up, Angel would beat him down again. Finally, he grabbed him by the throat and single-handedly lifted him off the ground.

“All those tattoos, all those new tricks you learned? They just don’t matter! Doesn’t matter what you try. Doesn’t matter where I am or how badass you think you’ve become. Cause you know what? I’m Angel. I beat the bad guys,” he stated, throwing Lindsey into the air and towards an acid pit.

I saw my moment. I saw my chance to change history. I knew I would need some help and not from Cordy. I needed Phil Coulson. Time froze again and I bounded out of the gatehouse and back into the arena. Lindsey was suspended in midair over certain death, no matter how empowered he was. I wasn’t even going to challenge what that stuff would do to me.

I jumped forward and grabbed Lindsey in my arms, the momentum safely carrying us to the other side of the pit. I grabbed a chain flail from one of the skeleton and ripped it apart. It would bind him up for the journey once I get rid of those markings. Wes and I did this spell once and while I lacked most of the necessary components, I’m pretty sure I could force it through on willpower alone. A holo-panel with the incantation appeared.

“Fabula mundi sanguis incesti vincula solve invisa revela,” I chanted slowly while dripping some of my blood on his chest. It wasn’t demon blood, but I’m sure my blood could be considered impure to the human purists that wrote that spell. I’m pretty sure I could feel it working. The sigils and glyphs turned to ash and lifted off of his skin, leaving him just a normal, shirtless human being. I bound him with the chains and wrote Tahiti on his chest in his own blood and signed it Fred. Time resumed, shocking me enough to let go of the blue.

“You? What’re doing to me?” Lindsey demanded, struggling against his bonds. I sighed sadly and ran my hand over his forehead to brush his bangs away.

“You’re right. It’s either you or Angel but I’m not so keen on letting you die like they are. I believe you can change but I’m not giving you a choice. I’m just giving you a second chance. I doubt we’ll met again, Lindsey,” I said. I struck him in the head to render him unconscious.

“What’re you doing?” Angel asked me as he pulled his sword out of the ground.

“Handing him over to SHIELD. They’ll strip his memories clean and give him a new life altogether. Give him a second chance,” I explained quietly. I touched upon that power Cordy used to get us here and opened a portal underneath him. His body fell away and hopefully right into Phil’s office. That was my intent with that spell, anyways.

“Why? So he can screw up another lifetime?” Angel scoffed.

“Redemption, Angel. That’s the mission or did you forget? I’m not clean, especially after Justin Hammer and what I did in that warehouse. What makes me better than Lindsey? Nothing that I know of,” I said quietly.

“No one’s blaming you for what happened to Hammer,” Angel said. I stood up and walked away from him, heading for the gate.

“I happened to Hammer, Angel, and I am apparently the only one to accept that I did that. I also killed some of his guards with a knife. That was before I became Illyria,” I informed him. I grabbed the hilt of Lindsey’s sword and drew it from the ground. Magic engulfed the blade and transformed down to a hunting knife. Still useful enough. I folded it and put it in my back pocket.

“You were kidnapped. That’s nothing compared to what Lindsey did of his own freewill,” Angel argued.

“Was everything he did bad, Angel? Every single thing? I don’t think so or you would have killed him a long time ago. I know you. He must have done enough good for you to let him walk away,” I pointed out.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said.

“You’re right. It doesn’t. He’s sitting in SHIELD’s lap and soon Lindsey will cease to exist. Remember that and if you run into his new identity, treat him fairly because there will be nothing of Lindsey left in there. He won’t know any of us,” I told him. We passed through the gate and found Cordy waiting for us on the stairs heading up to the skyscraper.

“There’s nothing up there between the lobby and their offices. Nothing. All the floors are for show. Apparently back in Roman days, this was a simple palace. Our present day obsession of tall buildings is reflected here,” Cordy explained.

“Are you sure that’s the obsession? Not giant phallic symbols of power?” I asked.

“There’s something between us and the elevator though,” Angel said, pointing out what looked to be a corpse of some kind.

“Cordy, when you said that axe was in their possession, you failed to say that it was buried in the back of its owner,” I mentioned.

“I wasn’t aware of that. That’s… gruesome. I can’t believe they would keep that as a trophy,” Cordy replied.

“This is Wolfram & Hart, remember?” I pointed out.

“Here’s the plan,” Angel started to say.

“We make our way to the dead Aesir and I take his axe, then we get in the elevator and head up to Private Offices?” I suggested on a hunch.

“Pretty much,” Cordy replied.

“Are my plans that predictable?” Angel asked.

“It’s not a bad thing, sweetie,” Cordy said soothingly.

I walked up to the dead Viking God and reached for his axe. The moment my hand ran over the ornate metal pommel and onto the braided haft, I felt it reach back and grab me. Reddish liquid flowed over my hand and formed hardened leather armor. It grew up my arm, over my chest and onto all of my body save my head. Golden metal vambraces came into being on my forearms and hands, quickly joined by a matching fauld and greaves on my lower legs. I felt powerful and more important, I felt dangerous. I pulled the oversized bearded axe from the corpse and rested it on my shoulder. The corpse faded away into dust now that its essence joined me.

“Woah, that’s… woah,” Cordy remarked. I gave her a smirk and twirled the axe on my wrist for show.

The elevator doors opened and out stepped a hideously reanimated version of Marcus Hamilton. I stepped forward and spun on my foot, lashing out with Helswath and severed his skeletal, rotting head from his shoulders. Not even a chance to speak. I’m not sure if that thing could speak.

“How many times do I have to kill that guy?” I asked emotionlessly.

“Fred, sweetie… you feeling okay?” Cordy asked me gently. I turned back to her and sighed. I didn’t know how to answer that. I felt different, but maybe that was feeling okay.

“I think so. This feels…right…” I said quietly.

“Buffy had this cookie dough analogy. That she wasn’t done baking yet, that she wasn’t a cookie. Maybe… this is the… Illyria Cookie,” Angel suggested.

“God, that girl is all kinds of dysfunctional,” Cordy replied.

“I think I get what Angel’s getting at. Isn’t this the Champion you wanted me to be, Cordy?” I asked.

“Yeah, I guess it is. You got the axe. I didn’t realize that it came with a subscription to Leather Lovers Quarterly, but we’re ready,” she said.

The elevator doors opened again with a woman stepping out, already surrendering. Angel grabbed my shoulder to make sure I didn’t kill her too.

“Eve,” Angel said disdainfully.

“You don’t need to kill me. I’m already dead. I’m just holding the door for you,” Eve said quietly.

The three of us filed into the elevator and surprisingly, Eve didn’t follow. I hit the button, the doors closed and we started going up. Only, we weren’t. My holo-panel wasn’t recognizing a change in altitude.

“What’s the plan?” Angel asked.

“I bluff, we kill,” Cordy said simply enough. I was single-minded enough at the moment to just go with it. I untied the wrapping on Helswath’s haft and gave a piece to each of them, miming that they tie it around their wrists.

“I get the Hart, you get the Ram, Cordy gets the Wolf. With those tied to me, you’ll be unaffected by any time dilation I produce,” I stated. It was only a theory, but it was a good one and I say we test it out. If it does work, this’ll make the job much easier.

“That’s why you’re my champion,” Cordy said with a smile.

“They’ll never see it coming,” Angel remarked.

The doors opened again and Cordy stepped out ahead of us. We flanked her, all over us with our weapons on our shoulders. We must have looked really bad ass because I’m pretty sure the Ram faltered. We stood before the demonic pains in our asses for the past few years. The wolf with his thick oily black coat and bright red eyes, the ram with his rotting dark grey fur and twisted demonic looking horns, and the hart with its dripping blood-red fur and the very sharp and pointy antlers. The room wasn’t modern at all. It was ancient and palatial, apparently like the rest of this place used to be.

“This is how it works! Just like you, I have cast a spell that means you can’t kill us unless you kill all of us simultaneously. That means we all got one shot at this! Three on three death match,” Cordy declared.

“You think you make the rules, peon of the Powers?” a voiced hissed out. It sounded like it came from inside my skull but I’m guessing the was the Wolf cause he was grinning, well, wolfishly. I normally like wolves, too. Cordelia stomped on the ground and a telekinetic wave knocked the three demons backwards. Her eyes and then very quickly her entire body started to glow.

“Peon?! Excuse me, I am no one’s lackey! I am Cordelia Chase! I am a Higher Power! I am the biggest bitch the Higher Powers have ever had and you will fear me!” she declared angrily. She was striking the fear of… well, her, into them. From mine and Angel’s perspective it actually kinda hot and sexy.

“You dare come into our realm like this?!” the Ram bellowed angrily.

“I dare! I so dare! I dare you three to try and take us! What are you other than three weak cowards hiding in a home you stole from a long dead god?! I know what you are, you overgrown Billy Goat. What about you, you mangy, flea bitten Dog, what’s the worse you can do? And do I even have to start with Bambi over there? Go play with your forest friends and bother us no more,” Cordy ranted acerbically. It had the effect she wanted. They were pissed. That has always been her superpower.

The three demons came at us. The Wolf snapping and growling, heading right for Cordy. The Ram, head down and charged at Angel. The Hart, thrashing its antlers about and rushing me. Angel let out a battle cry and we ran at them.

I slowed time to a crawl and like I planned, only the demons were affected. In unison the three of us struck. Angel plunged the Caladbolg into the Ram right between its eyes straight to the hilt and let go of the blade to sidestep the beast. Cordy flipped her Masamune around into a reverse grip and plunged it into the Wolf where I presume its heart is. She twisted it around before ripping it out straight up and through the spine. I sidestepped the Hart and swung Helswath in a downward cleave as hard as I could, completely severing the head from its thick neck.

Time sped up again and the three demon carcasses crashed to the ground and skidded into the wall. The head I severed had a little bit of hang time before it hit the marble floor and slid into the body. All in all, I say it was a job well done.

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Angel asked, pulling magical blade from the Ram’s forehead and them cleaving the head off as well. Cordy decided it was better safe than sorry and beheaded her target as well.

The Private Offices shook violently around us, making me glare at Angel for jinxing us. Cordy grabbed both of us by our arms and pulled us very close. I felt her opening another portal through my body. It appeared in front of us and we crossed through as the first stone block crashed down from the ceiling. I think this is what Eve meant by dead already. I felt a little sad about that. I didn’t know her, so I didn’t know if she deserved to die like that.

We came out in the middle of the Hyperion at about 7:30 in the evening. Only one sun and it was still out, just lower in the sky. The lobby was full of people including Tony and Pepper. The Mark IV looked considerably damaged on him. I doubt he got it working to fight the demons so that must have been impact damage and perhaps the result of Pepper carrying him.

The doors burst open and a smoking blanket ran in. Once he got safely inside, Spike threw it off and whirled about presumably looking for us. I waved at him cheekily.

“You two! A little warning next time would be nice!” he said angrily. Two? I glanced to my side and saw Cordy wasn’t with us. I know she stepped through the portal with us because I was hanging on to her. She must have had Higher Power business to take care of.

Spike was sporting a slight sunburn that was very amusing. I’m glad he’s not dust, but this was funny. I held my composure until Angel busted up laughing. I started laughing too. He had to lean on his sword he was laughing so hard. Spike’s face contorted with rage and he tackled Angel to the ground.

“Fred!” Tony and Pepper called out. I jogged over to them and put down Helswath so I could hug them. The moment I unequipped my weapon the armor flowed off of me back to where it came, letting me lose the blue. I was 21st century Fred yet again. It felt nice, actually. I hugged them both as close as I could and kissed both of their cheeks.

“What happened? LA just became…” Tony trailed off.

“Hell A?” I suggested.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“We kicked Wolfram & Hart out of our dimension, they didn’t like it and plunged LA into some pocket hell dimension. Wasn’t friendly to all our electronics. I wrecked the skeletal suit when I crashed into the Hyperion through the same wall you did. Then Cordy grabbed me and Angel to take care of things… permanent-like,” I explained in my traditional hypomanic way.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. JARVIS told us everything up until you went off-line. I was so worried about you,” Pepper said emphatically.

“I’m really glad you could handle yourself out there, Pep,” I said softly. She smiled and nodded. Something about being two tough-as-nails chicks with superpowers really bonded us.

“Ms. Burkle. I would like a word, if you have the time,” Phil said from behind me. I knew SHIELD would put enough together to send him to me. Having a tiny Oklahoman drop out of the air and land on your desk might be pretty motivating as well.

“I’ll catch up at home,” I told Tony and Pepper and I didn’t give them much chance to argue, either. I turned away and walked up to the man in the suit, gesturing to Angel’s offices. Angel noticed me heading in there with Phil and gave me a nod saying he’d keep everyone away from my meeting.

“I come bearing questions and dimensional readings,” Phil said, removing a sealed folder and putting it on the desk.

“I… can’t think of any quips right now. Been too long of a day,” I replied. I picked up the folder and opened it up. There were dimensional readings, all labeled either Puerto Antigua or Los Angeles. SHIELD was trying find a unifying theory between the abstract dimensional disturbances they’re picking up in the desert and the massive planar shift that happened today. I bet they’ve got their little geeks in their lab pouring over mine, Cordy’s and Angel’s return to this plane as we speak.

“Good, that means all you have to do is answer my questions,” Phil said.

“Interrogate away,” I said, dropping into Angel’s seat. I felt exhausted. Terribly and totally wiped.

“Lindsey MacDonald. You want him for the TAHITI project. How do you even know about the TAHITI project?” he asked.

“I was approached by a friend of a friend of a friend about neural stripping. Wouldn’t give any answers until I knew everything. It’s kinda a serious topic, Coulson,” I replied.

“Fair enough. I guess we appreciate your discretion,” he said.

“Next question.”

“Puerto Antigua. What’s your professional opinion?”

“It’s on a crossroads of four mystical leylines which means that it will be a hotspot for transdimensional energies in the future.”

“How far in the future?”

“I don’t know. I’d need to examine it more. Give me a week.”

“What happened today?”

“I guess I should start at the beginning with that. How much do you know about Wolfram & Hart?” I asked wearily, putting my feet up on the desk.

“Nonhuman law firm with perhaps literal tentacles in every illegal business on this planet,” he said, appearing to get as comfortable as a person of his ilk could.

“Is that all? Then this is gonna take a long time. Wolfram & Hart is way more than a law firm…” I started. Long day already, and it was about to get even longer.


	22. It's Smile Time!

I left the screen on in the lab, letting it play just about anything from blockbuster films to old Nova specials. Right now it was on the news. I’d learned to avoid watching the news since I started working at Stark Industries and moreover, with Tony himself. Anything I saw was either a lie or misdirection and it either left me depressed or angry. TV pretty much sucked. If there was actual information I needed to know, JARVIS or any of my friends would make sure it got to me. I glanced up from my work and saw my blue self on the screen but I was lacking Helswath. I didn’t want to advertise the Asgardian axe quite yet. It was permanently tattooed to my right wrist for easy access thanks to Wesley’s spell-crafting. Just a flick of my wrist with the intent to draw the axe and it turns from ink to blade in an instant. I also liberally use Lindsay’s enchanted knife.

“Over the past week and a half, it seems a new hero has emerged on the scene. The cold, aloof, and very blue Illyria has been showing up in the middle of crises all up and down the West Coast and the South-West Corridor. What is readily apparent is that while this new super heroine is lacking in social skills, her desire to protect the innocent and fight for justice is as strong as any other hero out there. In other news, the death of disgraced weapons contractor Justin Hammer has been officially ruled a tragic accident by the military investigators assigned to the case.”

“Screen: off,” I said aloud and it clicked off. I tossed my ratchet aside and leaned back against the metal scaffolding I was standing on. The weird thing about fallout is that you never know where it’s going to land. I thought the dust had completely settled over at Stark a few weeks after my capture and escape from Hammer’s clutches, but I had learned that it reached much farther than I would have liked. The D.O.D. assigned a single member of military ops to oversee the cover-up of the Queens incident: Lt. Col. James Rhodes. It was an obvious rebuke for the incident in front of congress involving the late Justin Hammer and myself. As if he could have contained that situation any better than me.

“Incoming call for you, Ms. Burkle,” JARVIS said. My brow furrowed in surprise. I may be one of the more famous people in the world right now, but I was rarely contacted directly. Angel and them call me through my cell phone, but I don’t know who would call me through the house itself.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Your parents, ma’am. They are calling from the computer you gave them,” JARVIS replied.

“Put them on the screen,” I said quickly. I self-consciously smoothed out my hair and clothes, only realizing that I smeared engine grease and lubricants in them. Damn.

The screen came on to my parents’ nervous faces. “Hello, sweetie, we’re just checkin’ up on you, but it seems like you’re busy,” my mother said in that tone I’ve come to notice since I came back from Pylea. It said something along the lines of ‘I have no idea what you’re doing what now’ and ‘I don’t want to know what you’re doing right now’.

“What is it you’re workin’ on there, darlin’?” my dad asked in another tone I’ve come to recognize. It was his ‘I might regret hearing the answer this question’ tone.

“Um, complicated and classified?” I offered hopefully.

“It looks like another one of those suits you make with that Tony Stark,” my dad pointed out.

“It’s classified, daddy, I’m sorry,” I said. I sounded like a small child right then rather that then a member of the Buffet most wealthy list.

“Classified by who, darlin’? Him or you? All of us back here saw you on the television in Washington and I know my girl is the one in charge, not that rich playboy of yours,” he said.

I sputtered a few times and tried to wipe away some of the grease on my face but ended up smearing it again. “I don’t know what you mean,” I said cautiously.

“Oh, don’t play dumb, Fred, we all know you can’t. Your father and I know what we saw. He only serioused up once you were attacked. I remember how you’d get all those varsity boys wrapped around your finger back in high school,” my mother said causing me to blush crimson.

“That’s not true. I was just the nerdy girl that tutored them,” I said meekly.

“And did anyone get away with bullying you? No, because my girl knows just how to get into the hearts of anyone she wants to,” she replied.

“Mom,” I complained, still flustered and bright red.

“Now, Trish, don’t embarrass our girl. Chances are this is all being recorded in that castle and we don’t want her turnin’ that red on tape forever. And, sweetie, if you don’t want to talk about whatever that is that you’re workin’ on, it’s fine by us. We’re just checkin’ up on you,” my dad said.

“I know, daddy. I’m glad to see you, but I am fine. Everythin’s in the past where it should be. I’m movin’ on like I need to be. We won didn’t we? But that’s not the most important thing. The world’s comin’ up with new challenges every second for me t’ tackle. The world keeps movin’ so that means I gotta be too,” I said, a little taken aback at the amount of Texan twang made it back into my voice from just a few minutes of talking with my parents.

“That’s my girl,” my dad said and I beamed at him in response. I’ll always be a daddy’s girl, I guess.

My mom looked uncomfortable with the topic and quickly changed the topic. She still wanted me to live a quiet life like her and dad. After Hell A and Illyria, I completely understood why. “You’ve been hearin’ about that blue lady runnin’ around California, haven’t you? What was her name, dear?” mom asked my dad.

“Illyria. I think that’s what that anchorlady said,” he replied.

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. It was my right hand though and I didn’t want them seeing that tattoo. Mostly cause it’s a tattoo and I was… ashamed? Yeah, now that’s a weird feeling. It has nothing to do with magic or magical axes. My parents just don’t know I got inked. Luckily, there was some grease obscuring it. I couldn’t just lie to my parents, that’d be very wrong. True, I never told them about my bouts of marijuana use back in college or just what I had to do to survive in Pylea, or being kidnapped by Hammer, or what exactly happened in Hell A, but technically they never asked. “Yeah, mom, I have. Saw it on the news,” I said.

“I bet you know her, bein’ one of those superheroes and all,” mom stated.

“I do, in fact,” I said.

“Natalie Rushman is here,” JARVIS announced. There was an immediate flutter in my chest that I tried to squash but judging by the looks on my parents’ faces, I figure my feelings for her were clear as day. Luckily they never cared about that sort of thing. I might not be settling down or dating Tony Stark, but they were happy someone made me smile uncontrollably. I glanced at the clock and panicked a little bit. That couldn’t be a good sign since Tony has been missing since last night’s operation with Angel.

“I gotta go, I got a meeting in a few minutes,” I said quickly.

“Alright, dear. We’re just glad you’re doin’ alright,” mom said knowingly.

“Be safe, okay? I’m still holding Angel and Tony responsible for your well being,” dad stated.

“I know. I love you both,” I said.

“Love you, too, Winifred,” mom said.

“Love you, darlin’,” dad said. I clicked off the call with a snap of my fingers and grabbed a rag to start cleaning myself off.

“JARVIS, did she state why she’s here?” I asked as I climbed down from my perch. There was a distinct pause from JARVIS asking Natasha that same question.

“She says she has a SHIELD investigation that Agent Coulson would like you’re help on,” JARVIS replied.

“I am truly flattered, but I’m more than a little busy ‘round here. I got James’ suit plus looking for Angel and Tony? They were only checkin’ out a T.V. station, not raidin’ Fort Knox,” I said.

“Would you like to relay all that to Ms. Rushman? She is at the lab security gate already,” JARVIS asked dryly.

“No, just… send her in. Please,” I said, tacking on the last part in a hurry.

“Of course, ma’am,” JARVIS replied.

The doors slid open and an impeccably dressed Natasha strode in with a small cube between her fingers. I recognized the SHIELD logo on the side. It was almost as if she blatantly expected me to take the case. I am not a drone or a low-level search bar in a computer program. I am a person. I demand to be treated as such.

“Ms. Burkle, a pleasure to see you again,” Natasha said demurely right before wrapping her free hand around my waist and pulling me in for a mind-melting kiss that made my toes curl. I swear I was upset or indignant about something a moment ago. I swear. When she released me I couldn’t help my giddy squeak and smile.

“Ms. Rushman,” I said with a small giggle.

“I’m afraid I’m here on business, so I apologize for any impropriety,” she started to say. I kissed her, this time leading to her holding on to me even tighter. This was pretty much how all our rendezvouses went. Some fake pleasantries and then acting like horny teenagers. It meant the world to me lately. After all, someone actually desired me despite my proclivity to turn into a violent blue monster. She refused to see me as Illyria.

“All is forgiven,” I informed her politely. She seemed a little giddy herself. Natasha had the amazing ability to perfectly control her facial muscles but a small smile seemed to be trying to escape.

“Right. Coulson sent me with this. He said we have aligned interests and that you owed him one,” Natasha said, reluctantly separating herself from me and handing me the inch and a half cube. I took it and placed it on my desk. JARVIS automatically scanned it and displayed the contents. Dates, times, medical records, and wave-lengths. It was all very familiar.

“JARVIS, integrate this data with Tony’s and Angel’s investigation,” I said. The data started spinning and sorting itself out in front of me as it filed into my predesignated parameters.

“I’m sorry, Fred. Can you fill me in on what’s going on? I didn’t exactly read the contents of the data-cube. I just happily volunteered to deliver it,” she pointed out. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and led her to my chair.

“Oh, sure. Um, Angel’s had some downtime recently with the total collapse of Wolfram & Hart. I can’t believe the entire buildin’ went down as a result. But regardless, he discovered an alarmin’ pattern amongst 5- to 8-year-olds in the Greater L.A. region. Since he doesn’t have the resources he had at his old job, he reached out to me and Tony. I was too busy to be boots on the ground, so to speak, and Tony had just finished up that new element and the brand new reactor in his chest, so he was hopped up on energy. So, Tony looked into it. We narrowed down a potential source at a T.V. station. They went there last night and I haven’t heard back from either of them,” I explained as I sped read through the files. A lot of it was just raw data that JARVIS already processed. I was looking for something else. Something that might click links inside my brain instead of his.

“So, what did SHIELD give you?” she asked. Her tone had changed. She wasn’t even trying to be Natalie Rushman right now. The Black Widow was resting on my office chair with her legs tucked up underneath her. Her pencil skirt rode up well over her knees and exposed more of her long stocking clad legs. Oh dear god, I need to get laid so I can stop molesting that woman with my eyes. Though, I know that is her intention, to inexplicably attract my attention.

“More of the same. But more of the same is a good thing in this case. More data means we might crack this thing. Apparently Phil’s been hunting down this child plague just like we were. He just heaped all of SHIELD’s data from all its recordin’ stations around the area,” I replied.

“Okay, what is going on? A plague? A virus?” she asked.

“Somethin’ like that. But given the photos taken of the kids in the hospital, I’m goin’ with somethin’ mystical,” I answered.

“Why?”

I brought up one of the girl’s documents and medical evidence. I tried not to stare at it that long because I couldn’t shake it for hours the last time I looked. The girl, seven years old, had her arms permanently at a ninety degree angle above her head, palms forward. Her face was frozen in a demented smile with her eyes wide open and glazed. It didn’t look like she was in a coma, but she certainly was. Completely non-responsive to all stimulus and simply never moved. I’ve checked on her condition numerous times. Nothing.

“Oh,” she finally said. It took her a second and I watched her eyes move rapidly over the image a few dozen times before looking away. I made it disappear after that. No one should keep looking at that.

“Yeah,” I replied, still organizing data. There was something I was missing. Obviously or all this would be solved.

“Could be the Joker,” she suggested dryly. I gave her a baleful look and she just shrugged.

“I… already ran the possibility of some kind of comic book-esque toxin. The victims are so widespread but lacked anythin’ closer than a third degree of separation. It’s too improbable and too random to be physical distribution. I even cross-checked the victims on a cellular and subcellular level and found no common weakness that would let them be affected and nobody else. The only commonality is that all seven victims are children been the ages of five and eight,” I said in frustration.

“Kids between five and eight. When did the incidents happen?” she asked.

“What? Um, the last two weeks,” I replied.

“No. The kids, they had to be found at some point and Joker kids aren’t going to be ignored by adults or even teenagers in the house. When were they all found?” she clarified. I quickly sifted through the holopanels. I know that JARVIS tabulated that already. I brought that up to the fore.

“Here it is. The discovery times varied dramatically but all witness reports place the victims in front of the TV between 7 and 7:30. Using that as a basis and cross-referencing neighborhood demographics with witness testimony, Neilsen boxes, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, Instagram, let’s be honest and just say all social media…” I trailed off.

“I’m disappointed,” Natasha said with a small, playful pout on her lips.

“That I didn’t list the rest of the social media outlets JARVIS is scouring?” I asked in confusion.

“No, your adorable accent faded away again,” she said, smirking up at me. I blushed and kissed her quickly to shush her before turning back to the panels. Her long legs snaked out around my thighs and pulled me onto her lap, clasping her hands in front of my waist as her way of telling me not to get up. My heart automatically started beating faster as her fingers grazed across my stomach under my blouse. I could put up with being handled like this for the time being.

“I hate it. People don’t take a female scientist seriously most of the time and add that twang to it… they just disregard me entirely,” I explained.

“True. But that isn’t why I find it adorable,” she said. I reached up and started narrowing the immense amount of social data I accumulated with that wide of a net.

“I’ll bite, why?” I asked, bringing what we needed up to the fore. She rested her head on my shoulder and leaned into me a bit more. I couldn’t help smiling at bit feeling her there. Her teeth nipped the skin there in her way of saying she’ll bite too.

“You’re completely unchecked and off the cuff when your accent is out. I like the pure, unfiltered you,” she replied.

“Oh, god. That’s sick,” I said suddenly, making her look between me and the data.

“The show is called Smile Time?” she asked in disbelief.

“KTCE Television. That’s within the quarter-mile radius of the erroneous magical signature Wesley recorded last night,” I exclaimed, immediately sending the data to him.

“And I’m guessing that’s where Mr. Angel and Iron Man went,” she added.

“Tony didn’t use a suit. They drove there. But I can’t find Angel’s car, either,” I said.

“So what do you figure happened there last night?” she asked.

“No idea,” I replied. I turned my head and kissed her quickly.

“I’m at a loss. I don’t know how you demon hunting super scientist types run things,” she said, turning me around so I was straddling her on the chair.

“What do you mean?” I asked. She flipped us faster than I could follow so she was the one straddling me this time. I’m not even sure how she did that. All part of her thing of preferring to be on top.

“I mean, what do you do now that you’ve figured all this out?” she asked. Natasha leaned in and kissed at my neck, letting her curtain of curly red hair fall all over my shoulder.

“I… you’re very d-distracting…” I murmured into her shoulder.

“I know,” she whispered proudly. The ego on this woman… She kept kissing and nibbling and making my brain go funny.

“Wesley and the rest of the recently reformed Angel Investigations are at the Hyperion. I sent over everything we found. I’m waiting on their call,” I told her.

My phone started buzzing in my pocket, startling me. Natasha, however, was straddling that leg so she got a bit more than a startle from it. I giggled as she quickly hopped off my lap. One tap and the phone call moved to holopanel in front of me. It was only Tony. I was very pleasantly busy. Wait, it was from Tony!

“Tony! Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you all night! I made considerable progress on narrowing everything down but it may actually be non-mystical in origin,” I rambled.

“Fred, I need you to…” he tried to say but I’m afraid I was in mid-rant.

“You see, even though there isn’t a known pathogen in the mix, there is a similar endocrine deficiency between all the victims that I honestly just noticed and may allow for an airborne pathogen to affect only these victims and it could have been administered aerially at that time since 7:30 is a low aerial traffic time…” I continued.

“Fred!” Tony yelled over the line, effectively shutting me up.

“Yeah?” I asked quietly.

“Believe me, it’s mystical,” he said.

“I know. I just… didn’t want to say: Hey Tony! Guess what, it’s magic,” I replied.

“Just get down to the Hyperion and bring the Mark IV,” Tony said before hanging up.

“That didn’t sound right,” Natasha pointed out.

“No, it didn’t. Why would he ask for the Mark IV? It’s antiquated technology by our standards. It’s also broken after the Hell A incident,” I asked.

“No, his voice didn’t sound right. It sounded like he was speaking through fabric,” she commented.

“A little bit. I’m more concerned with why he wanted an antique,” I replied.

“Are you going to fly him the armor?” she asked.

“No, I hate the Mark IV. It’s clunky and lacks almost all of our upgrades. Simply putting it on would take thirty minutes. Also, it’s seriously broken. Like scrap bin broken. We’re going to drive it over. JARVIS? Could you please disassemble the Mark IV and put it in the trunk of my Maserati?” I asked. Two other suits activated and stepped over to the Mark IV and started taking it apart.

“We?” Natasha asked.

“Of course? Unless you’re not game,” I pointed out as I transferred all the data to one of my own data cubes. I tossed it up in the air and Natasha caught it before I could, slipping it into my pocket. Her lips found mine for a moment and she smiled.

“I’m game,” she said simply enough.

“Ma’am, I’ve discovered a glitch in the Mark XVI. It is attempting to instigate hostile action,” JARVIS reported. I spun around and saw Nightclub twitch awkwardly in the middle of the room instead of on its stand.

“Against what?” I asked.

“Or whom,” Natasha pointed out.

“…against everything, ma’am,” JARVIS replied.

“How is it even operating?” I asked.

“Mr. Stark’s new Iron Legion protocol works as a functional virtual intelligence,” JARVIS said.

“Can you reason with it?”

“All attempts at communication have been met with a less than satisfactory response. It is acting as Mr. Stark would on a bad day.”

“Is it sentient or a glitch?”

“I cannot qualify that, ma’am.”

The Mark XVI armor turned on the spot, dragging its leg on the ground. It clearly didn’t understand the mobility of its limbs. I raised its arm and pointed right at me, so I subtly shifted Natasha behind me. I can safely take a repulsor blast.

“Why… do you call it… ma’am?”

“I believe your intent is to be hostile to my family,” JARVIS replied. The two armors loading the Mark IV flanked the VI.

“Family… the word… how are you their family? You’re their puppet… strings… you’re covered in strings…”

I tapped a series of invisible commands using my own holographic interfaces and effectively put a cybernetic lockdown on the Villa. Nothing in, nothing out for the time being. I started an overhead throwing motion and willed Helswath into existence and hurled it right at the armor and cleaved it in two. The armor parts clattered to the ground and sparked wildly. The arm tried moving towards me but a single gunshot went off from behind me, blowing it apart. I glanced back and saw Natasha holding out her pistol with that cold killer look in her eyes.

“What are we doing with that?” Natasha asked.

“I want more eyes on it than just mine and JARVIS’. Can you secure the parts to prevent reactivation for further research and discovery later? I’d like to do a full study with Tony here to see what we can figure out just what happened with the Iron Legion OS,” I said.

“Yes, ma’am. The Mark IV is ready for transit, as it were,” JARVIS informed us.

“You’ll stay in communication in case something goes wrong?” I asked worriedly.

“Of course, ma’am. I hope you don’t continue to worry about me at the expense of your mystical child plague,” JARVIS pointed out.

“I always worry about my family, JARVIS,” I told him as Natasha and I climbed into the Maserati. Helswath vanished from the floor and reappeared as the tattoo on my arm.

“I know, ma’am. I always have. Playback as follows: ‘JARVIS! Why would you take a risk like that and infiltrate probably the most virus and worm filled space of the internet just to find the answer to my question? You are far more important than a question, no matter what it is!’” JARVIS replied, using a recorded sound file from me as his argument. That was from my first week working here. I smiled and pulled out of the garage.


	23. Got No Strings

I pulled us off the freeway in LA, heading to the Hyperion at a much slower speed than I would normally go. To say I was distracted by that anomalous rogue AI/VI/Whatever incident was putting it lightly. Natasha’s hand slipped over mine on the gearshift and gave it a squeeze. I spared her a look and noted how concerned she was.

“What?” I asked simply. She gave my hand another squeeze and shifted in her leather seat.

“You don’t look bothered about what just happened. Remember, I am trained to read a person like a book and I can normally read you perfectly. I’m getting nothing right now. You’re cold and that worries me,” Natasha admitted quietly. I glanced at her again.

“It scares you. Not worries. You’re worried when I’m late to coffee. This scares you. Illyria scares you. You’re afraid that the monster will reveal herself as the real me,” I pointed out.

“That’s not what we’re talking about,” she stated quickly.

“You called me cold. You never call me cold because of how emotionally warm or hot I am with you. But Phil BCCed me your testimony concerning Illyria to the Council,” I mentioned, dialing it up on my computer.

_“Illyria is cold, aloof, and merciless which leads to brutal actions without any care or remorse to a degree that specialists would envy,”_ the recording of Natasha said.

_“In short, what are you saying, Agent Romanov?”_ Alexander Pierce asked.

_“In short? Illyria is a monster. A necessary evil,”_ Natasha replied. I turned it off and looked back at her just as we pulled up to a stoplight.

“I… it’s not as horrible as it sounds coming from me,” Natasha said quietly.

“I’m going to love hearing you talk your way out of that one, darling,” I said with a disbelieving laugh.

“My first kill was at the age of twelve. The Cold War wasn’t going so well and the USSR had started imploding by the time I was at the Red Room. They accelerated our training. The girl I was fighting was my friend and I hers. The match terms changed. It became to the death and I didn’t think she would kill me. We were friends. But she tried and something awoke in me. I killed her and it was messy. I learned to kill because it was what I needed to do to survive. I became exceptionally good at it over my time in the Red Room. Then they gave me their version of the Super Soldier Serum and I changed. It exemplified everything I am. I was made into this. You bring out the… romantic, the loving, the playful side of me. Everything else… is darkness. By the time I joined SHIELD, I was a monster. I seduced and murdered my way across the globe because I was too weak to stop myself. Nick Fury took me in and remolded me into this. He told me I was a necessary evil in this world,” she explained quietly. By now we were just outside the Hyperion and I pulled into the parking lot.

I was confused. If we were so alike, why did she fear me so much? She just admitted that she was Enhanced, just as I am. Then what is the problem? I shifted blue and turned her to face me. She flinched but didn’t look away. Her eyes were wet with tears and I felt like we were back to that night on the runway. I didn’t push her this time, only grab hold of her hand.

“I don’t get it. Why do you look at me like that if we are both… monsters,” I asked. She ran her hand down my face before taking hold of my other hand in hers. It was like I was numb or experiencing it through a foot of glass. Her hand was barely a tingle on my nervous system. She tightened her grip and I could feel the power in her body that she tries to hide. She was powerful. Not as powerful as me but truly powerful none the less.

“Would you believe me if I said that Illyria is who I see in the mirror?” she asked.

“Only if that’s the truth,” I replied.

“Change back,” she insisted.

“Kiss me,” I insisted in return.

“Why?” she asked. I moved my hand back into her hair and gripped the back of her neck softly.

“Because I can handle it if no one loves Illyria. I don’t view her as me. She’s… a costume I put on. But to see you see me like you are right now… that hurts me,” I replied. She leaned in and kissed my lips but I couldn’t feel it. She’d have to kiss me with the force of a freight train for me to feel it. It is so much easier to be so cold and impersonal when you can’t feel much of anything.

“I don’t wish to hurt you,” she said. I smiled sadly and turned back to me. I kissed her once more just to feel her lips against my own.

“I’m always worried,” I replied. She frowned and took my cheek in her hand.

“I didn’t realize I seemed so ready to cause you harm,” she said sadly.

“I’m a nerd with a disturbing medical condition. You’re… you. No matter your sins, you could have anyone on the planet. I’m always waiting for you to move on once you realize you could do much better than me,” I explained. She scoffed and even sputtered a bit. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so ruffled.

“That’s… that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard you say. How could you think I was that shallow?” she asked.

“Oh, don’t take it personally. I always think that Tony will find someone prettier to represent the company’s tech division or someone smarter to work with. I always think Pepper will find someone more social vicarious to spend her time with. I always thought Angel and them would just tire of me once any charm I might have worn off,” I admitted.

“And yet you present yourself with confidence and an unflappable attitude to the world. To what? Hide your fear of being left alone or trying to make people want to stay longer before they leave? No, it must be the former or you would have tried to lure me to bed by now,” she mused.

“In there is a room full of monsters. Vampires, a werewolf, a singing demon… me. Maybe you’ll lighten up on yourself in their presence. I’d like to see that. It’s my goal. I want you to see you as I do…” I said. She kissed me quickly and got out of the car. I popped the trunk and carried the Iron Man armor pieces inside.

The first thing noticed was that Angel and Tony were nowhere to be seen. That was weird to begin with. Nina sat at my old desk and looked positively ashamed of herself. Charles wasn’t there either. Only Wesley sat at his desk with books everywhere.

“Tony! Get out here! We need to talk about something!” I called out as we stepped into the lobby. I dropped the armor pieces onto the center couch. Wes smiled as he got to his feet.

“Fred, a pleasure as always. And you have a colleague… I recognize you from somewhere,” he stated properly, looking at Natasha. I gave her a glance and noted the haunted look deep in her eyes. She knew him for the wrong reasons, I’m guessing.

“I rendered you unconscious in 1997 while I was infiltrating Watcher Headquarters on assignment. You pretended to be of much higher rank and authority because you were trying to flirt with me. I used knockout lipstick mostly so I could avoid leaving marks,” she said coldly. Black Widow was talking.

“Ah, that would be why I have a hard time remembering you. Nevertheless, that does sound like something I would have done in that life,” Wesley, looking quite chagrined at his own buffoonery. I never really met that Wesley, so it’s still hard for me to imagine him so unlikable.

“Wes, I need to talk to Tony. There was this whole puppet thing going on at the Villa,” I said. He appeared quite startled which made little sense to me.

“So, you know about what happened to Angel and Mr. Stark,” he said, getting nervous laughter out of me.

“I highly doubt what happened to us happened to him. At least, we surely hope not,” I replied, glancing back at Natasha for a moment.

“Fred, we were right about the TV station. Something… happened, to them last night,” he explained. Only, he really didn’t, did he?

“What happened, Wes?” I asked. Nina stood up suddenly, startling both of us.

“They were turned into felt and cotton puppets. I need to go lie down,” she said abruptly, heading up the stairs.

“Second day of the full moon, isn’t it?” Natasha asked. Wes nodded and led us over to his desk.

“While she took the necessary precautions, I am afraid Angel wasn’t in his right mind last night and went to see her. Lorne found him carrying his stuffing down the hall and I… I mended him up. A regular Geppetto I seemed to be. Or at least Jim Henson,” he said, stifling a laugh. I swatted his arm gently.

“Wesley!” I exclaimed.

“I am sorry, but the absurdity of this situation creeps up on you ever so often,” he admitted. A loud crash from Angel’s office caught our attention and I just realized the window was boarded up.

“What happened there?” I asked nervously.

“Angel and Tony are both in there, disagreeing about how to handle this mostly. They’re emotional response mechanism has been altered considerably by what occurred,” he explained. We heard another crash from inside.

“So Angel and Tony just throwing things at each other in there?” I demanded.

“The last time I checked Angel threw a letter opener at me,” he replied.

“As indestructible as I am, I’ll stop this,” I said. I pushed into the room and caught a coffee mug flying my way. I grabbed the person to my left and then vaulted the desk to grab the other. I hoisted them up and got a better look at them. They were made of felt with tufts of hair and itty bitty hands. I was on cute overload. I could feel the squeal rising up in me and it would not be denied.

“Fred! Don’t!” Angel warned me. I finally squealed and hugged them both to me.

“You’re adorable!” I exclaimed.

“Fred! You’re fired!” Angel declared. I rolled my eyes but had to bite my lip again to stop another squeal at the cuteness.

“I don’t work for you anymore, Angel,” I pointed out.

“You’re fired!” Tony hollered from his place pressed into my chest. I suddenly realized that pushing Tony Stark into my boob was probably not the best idea. Though, he has been there before when he wasn’t a puppet.

“You need me,” I told him sternly.

“Fred, put us down,” Angel demanded.

“Not until you two play nice,” I insisted.

“Why would we?” Tony shot back.

“I brought the Mark IV,” I replied.

“And?” Angel asked. I sighed and looked at the fluffy vampire in my arm. His puppet features had shifted down into the heavy brow ridge of vampires and his eyes were yellow set in red. I’m guessing the scars were Wesley’s sewing job after Nina got to him.

“And what, Angel? What could your little puppet heart desire?” I asked.

“Don’t call me a puppet!” Angel declared.

“Angel, I’m this close trying to find your puppet hole and make you talk and you know I can. Do you want to behave or is my blue hand going do something invasive?” I dared him. His felt features shifted back into the approximation of his normal face.

“I’m behaving,” Angel said. I put them both down and sigh. This was crazier than anything we’d done before. Anything. Even Vegas and I was a Lornette!

“What happened to you two?” I asked in disbelief.

“He did it!” both of them exclaimed at once. I gave them a look that both of them know well and the both shut up immediately.

“You guys went to investigate a TV studio for a magical plague that turns kids into creepy mannequins. How does that make you into… what you are?” I asked.

“After some incredible derring-do, we breached the facility,” Tony started to say.

“It was unguarded and it’s a TV studio,” Angel interjected.

“Boys!” I said.

“The night staff was clearly under some kind of spell. They didn’t see us, they just acted like…” Angel trailed off.

“Drones. Mindless drones. We couldn’t shake them, we couldn’t even get their attention,” Tony finished.

“So there’s this mystical hum in the air that we can’t place but Tony finds a passage behind a filing cabinet. We follow it back into some old LA architecture until we find a room labeled DON’T. Who labels a room DON’T?” Angel asked.

“Someone who doesn’t think Iron Man and his intrepid sidekick won’t ignore it,” Tony replied.

“I am not your sidekick!” Angel yelled.

“BOYS!” I yelled loudly. The looked at me sheepishly.

“Sorry, Fred,” they both replied. This went from the cutest dream ever to the most aggravating nightmare in nothing flat.

“What happened in the DON’T room?” I asked.

“Some guy sitting there with a towel over his head and this giant egg thing on the wall. It let out a bright light and knocked us into some boxes. We woke up and we were…” Angel trailed off again.

“Don’t say it!” Tony warned.

“You were puppets,” I finished for them.

The main doors slammed outside, causing me to reach for the door handle. However, what we were about to hear made use of a doorknob moot.

“Oi! Captain Forehead! I got news from afar but first, guess who shagged a certain blonde slayer with glad-you’re-not dust-sex?!” Spike hollered triumphantly.

“Spike!” Angel yelled, tackling me before taking out the door altogether. The puppet ran into the lobby and I caught up.

“Oh! Look at you! You’re…” Spike said between guffaws.

“Don’t!” Angel yelled.

“You’re a wee little puppet man!” Spike exclaimed excitedly.

“That’s it!” Angel yelled, tackling the vampire to the ground.

All of us just stared in wonder at what was going on. I made my way over to Wesley’s desk and tapped him on the shoulder. Neither of us looked away. The brawl was legendary, even for the two of them. I couldn’t believe that Spike was losing to a puppet.

“We’re going to need more help. I trust your spell casting, but it’s just…” I murmured.

“Oh, I completely agree. I have a few people of real power that could help us out. I’ll make a few phone calls,” Wes said.

Puppet Angel picked Spike up and easily threw him onto the second landing. Tony hurried out from behind the desk to the Mark IV pieces. He was extremely excited as he looked them over.

“They seem to have the proportionate excitability of puppets,” I remarked.

“Fred! Mini Iron Man armor! Think of it! The Mark Five-Hundred-and-One-point-Ten!” he declared with an immature giggle. Why the giggle or the weird number? I wrote it out on the notepad next to me in roman numerals like all our suits and just groaned.

Iron Man Armor Mark DI.X. Dicks. Really, Tony?

Immature.


	24. The Battle of Felt and Cotton Valley

It’s almost midnight. I have been trying to juggle far too many things at once. At least Pepper arrived a few hours ago. Let her deal with Puppet Tony. You would think that the worst thing would be him wanting to create a Puppet Armor (which is what I’m calling it instead of Mark DI.X). But the worst thing is him actually finding a way to miniaturize the armor and having to put out the fire he set. That, and he shot me in the chest meaning I had to change clothes again and I looked like Gwen Raiden… again. Puppet libido is also something I never want to deal with again. Hearing and seeing a puppet say I look hot in a salacious manner is so creepy.

Natasha found my hiding spot an hour ago or so. She brought me some food from the kitchens and just sat down beside me. She didn’t speak or anything, just kept me company. But all nice things have to come to an end sometime. Especially before the Puppet Armor had functional scanner arrays.

“As… distracting and taxing as the puppet cancer is, we still need to stop whatever it is that is happening to these children,” I finally said.

“I don’t find the puppets distracting. Tony acting as his inner child is, honestly, disturbing... but not thought consuming,” Natasha said idly.

“Then help me focus,” I pleaded quietly. She gazed at me for a moment before gently taking my head in her hands and kissing me softly. I let out a relieved breath of air and she smiled.

“Our target is the TV studio. For the time being, we have to assume Angel and Tony are out of play. But we are left with you, me, Spike, Wesley, and Gunn. I’m comfortable we can handle just about anything we come across. Our first priority is finding this Egg they mentioned. It would seem to me that it is some kind of repository for energy and may be our key to reversing the effects on the children and the puppets. I guess the only question is what do you want to do with the culprits?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked in return.

“What if they’re human?” she asked.

“What if they are?” I replied.

“Okay, what if, by chance, they are humans who stupidly stumbled into what they thought would be a gold mine and didn’t know what they were doing to kids?” she asked. I laughed and leaned my head back against the wall.

“Okay, what if that is the case. I’ll hand them over to you, or Phil, and let SHIELD deal with them,” I replied simply enough.

“And if they know what they were doing?” she asked. I sighed and looked over at her.

“What do you want me to say? What would you do if they knew what they were doing and they happen to be human?” I asked.

“I… they’ve harmed children on purpose. Their only victims have been children. I would kill them for that,” she said.

“There you go. The question isn’t what we’re going to do if they prove to be villains. The question is who is going to get to them first,” I said dryly.

“Well, Spike is extraordinarily fast as a vampire, Wesley is very adept and expedient with sorcery and a gunslinger, I’m a talented quickdraw, Gunn is impulsive, and you can stop time. If you react first, you’ll reach them first. Otherwise it becomes a bit of a toss-up,” she said.

I leaned over a bit and rested my head on her shoulder. For a self-proclaimed monster, she was very affectionate. She slipped her arm around my shoulder to keep me close. Well, this blue-skinned monster wishes the world would just leave us alone so we could stay like this.

A loud explosion made the building shake and Natasha’s other arm wrapped protectively around me as a little bit of cream colored plaster fell from the ceiling. I sat up but she didn’t release me just yet.

“That was the sound of a major wall being blown out,” she muttered.

“The afterburner sound means it was a repulsor weapon that did it,” I added.

“FRED!” Pepper screamed from four stories lower. Four stories. Nothing in all of my notes on Extremis suggest she gained superpowered vocal cords, but I can't believe I heard that. She sounded angry, not scared or hurt. We sighed and looked at one another. I tried to get up but Natasha didn’t let go.

“Just call the front desk. No need to move just yet,” Natasha said. I smirked and kissed her cheek. My hand flicked outward and my entire phone directory displayed in a holopanel. I have contacts pretty much everywhere on the planet. Because of that, I programmed a more friendly directory for the numbers I don’t have off the top of my head, aren’t on my speed-dial, or I just don’t want to bother JARVIS with such a thing.

“Zone One. United States of America. California. Southern California. Los Angeles. Business. A… Angel Investigations. There we are…” I said, dialing it up.

“That hard to find my number too?” she asked with a smirk. I opened up a separate holopanel.

“Call Nat,” I said gentle, causing her phone to ring between us. I kissed her cheek again and collapsed the panel.

“Angel Investigations, Wyndham-Pryce speaking, how may I help you?” Wes said wearily. I could hear fire extinguishers in the background.

“Hiya, Wes. I’m calling about a tiny explosion we just heard up here on the fourth floor. Is the structural integrity of the building compromised?” I asked warily.

“Iron Man’s new miniature suit just blew a hole in the wall separating the lobby from the kitchen. There’s a good chance some damage to important pillars happened. Can I hide with you?” he asked good-naturally. Natasha groaned and tried to drop her arm from across my chest but I grabbed onto it for the moment.

“I’m on my way. If it’s safe, can you retrieve the stuff I left in the basement? If it’s not safe, send a vampire or Pepper,” I replied dryly.

“Of course. See you soon,” he replied. I closed the panel and we finally considered standing up.

“Is this how it’s going to be every time we trying to just relax together?” I asked.

“Maybe, but perhaps we’ll take a weekend after we deal with the puppet plague?” she asked hopefully.

“I’d love that. Where are we going?” I asked softly.

“Literally anywhere in the world. Do you feel tropical or rustic or what?” she asked in return.

“Mmm, I’d love to get you onto a beach on a tropical island,” I purred, kissing behind her ear.

“Well, I can get us some time in Tahiti. Phil says it’s a magical place and there’s a safe house that high level agents use to decompress. Which we need,” she suggested.

“Sounds perfect,” I replied.

My phone rang and I threw it to a holoscreen immediately. Pepper calling this time. Nat sighed and rested her head back on my shoulder.

“Fred! What am I looking for down here? Your stuff looks like… well, your stuff,” Pepper said in annoyance.

“There is a metal crate with a red ‘X’ spray painted on it. I need that,” I replied.

“I see it. You better be down in the lobby by the time I get back up instead of cavorting with our lawyer!” she said before hanging up.

“Is that what we do? Cavort?” I asked Nat.

“Not until Tahiti and then we’re going to cavort from sun up to sun down,” she said dryly. I giggled and rose to my feet, gently helping her up as I went.

“Mm… I think that gave me the courage to go down and continue the war,” I replied.

“The Thread and Needle War?” she asked in amusement.

“Yes, right now it’s time to end the Battle of Felt and Cotton,” I said, making her roll her eyes.

We took the elevator back down to the lobby and found the place a dusty mess. There was one person I didn’t recognize clearing the rubble with wisps of red energy. This must have been what Wes meant when he said calling for backup.

“Wes? Who’s this?” I asked.

“Ah, yes. Winifred Burkle, let me introduce you to Wanda Maximoff. She came in Willow’s stead,” Wes explained. The pretty brunette woman smiled thinly before returning to her job at hand.

“You know Willow?” I asked.

“They’re dating,” Natasha replied for her, earning an uncomfortable look from the witch.

“Big jump?” I asked her.

“She reacted to your question the same way I would if someone asked about you. Guarded, protective, unmistakable small smile,” she explained. The energy around a chunk of mortar dissipated and it fell to the ground.

“I apologize, I do not mean to seem callous. Willow personally vouched for your character, however you are still a face of Stark Industries,” Wanda said in decently thick Eastern European accent.

“Your accent, Sokovia, right? Novi Grad?” Nat asked with a little bit of her Russian accent creeping in.

“Yes. You’re… Russian, are you not?” she asked in return. Nat turned back to me.

“Novi Grad was the heart a brutal civil war after the fall of the Soviet Union. Much of the city was shelled by illegal arms made by Stark Industries,” Nat explained.

“Right, under Obadiah Stane. You know that Tony nearly died putting a stop to that. And that was before I even met him. Stark Technologies and Innovations hasn’t produced a single weapon either,” I said defensively. Nat put her hand on my arm to still me.

“I really don’t think this is the time for that argument, Fred. Didn’t Pepper say she was bringing something up from the basement for you?” Nat asked me.

“Your right. Thank you for your help, Ms. Maximoff,” I said politely. Nat gently swatted me on the arm.

“Fred…” she said under her breath.

“I’m sorry. Thank you, Wanda,” I said again. A small wry smile appeared on Wanda’s face as I passed her.

“You are welcome, Ms. Burkle,” she said impishly.

I rolled my eyes and stepped into the ruins of the kitchen. I could practically see the damage totals floating in front of me. Actually, I created a holopanel and scanned the room. Everything quickly tallied up to $20,000+ and I waved it away. Believe it or not, this was on the very low end of Tony’s median damage totals, but it was to a place I call home, damnit.

“Fred! Got your crate!” Pepper said. I glanced over and saw a very fiery Pepper Potts lugging the crate on her shoulder like it was nothing.

“Great. Now get me a Puppet Iron Man,” I said dryly, taking the crate from her.

“Did you meet the charming Ms. Maximoff? I think she was too scared to be crass with me,” she said.

“I did, and despite our rough start, I think we’ll be fine,” I replied. I rifled through the old equipment in the crate and started pulling things out.

“Please tell me you’re planning on permanently disable that monstrosity,” she stated.

“Sorry, Pep. I’m just fixing it. In his current state, he was bound to miss a lot,” I replied.

“This is like giving a child a nuke. No, it’s worse. It’s like letting Tony drink and operate an Iron Man,” she replied. She grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the crate. She used enough force and power on me that I immediately turned blue in response. Fire, meet ice.

“What would you have us do? Lock him away? Who are we to deny him the right to see this through? He was turned into a fucking puppet, Pepper,” I stated bluntly. The cuss word lacked the normal punch when filtered through the ice of Illyria. That was odd. I guess swearing is useless, but only when you have no emotions.

“I don’t want to see him hurt any worse! Did you see what Nina did to Angel? They’re probably more vulnerable now than ever! I just want to keep him safe!” she argued hotly.

“Sometimes you have to put some trust and faith in your boyfriend, Pepper…” I replied.

“I! What?! Fred!” she sputtered. The blue melted away and I smiled wryly at her before digging into the crate again.

“It’s called mutual trust. If you want him to see you as an equal, you have to treat him like one. Natalie and I talked this through over coffee once. As you know… being a lawyer can get pretty dicey, so I have to be able to take a breath and say that she can take care of herself. She knows that being a scientist has some risks but she trusts me. Am I getting through here?” I asked calmly.

“But Tony and I…” she stammered.

“Tony and you are Tony and you. I have always been the third wheel. You even viewed me as a threat way back when. But no one gets between Tony and you,” I told her.

“You make it sound like you’re an outsider to us,” she said sadly. I shook my head while piling the tools I need into a smaller box.

“Of course not. I’m family. That isn’t in doubt. But I’m off the market and I’m observant enough to see what’s going on between you two. But on a more serious note, you’re practically indestructible but we’re not going to toy with magic to find out by how much. Wesley and Wanda are going to make us some anti-magic charms to stop anything untoward from happening to any of us. However, I believe you’re right about Tony’s vulnerability. That is why I need to make the Puppet Armor the absolute best it can be. Tony doesn’t have Vampiric regeneration,” I explained quickly and succinctly.

“But why can’t we just lock them away and finish this ourselves? Take care of them once in a while?” she asked wearily.

“Because I watched Puppet Angel whoop Spike’s ass like it was nothing. They’re gunning for a fight,” I replied.

“Someone call my name?” Charles hollered out.

“No, different use of the word gun,” Wanda told him gently. I’m observant. I notice things. For instance, Wanda is the latest in a long line of women to crush on Charles. Even the ones in same-sex relationships.

“Can you just go get him for me? Please?” I asked.

“Fine,” Pepper replied, heading to where she had presumably locked him up.

Spike wandered down the stairs with a glass of whiskey pressed to his lip and a smug smile. I raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed, dropping down onto the couch. I walked over to him, taking a closer look at his injuries. He was majorly roughed up.

“Angel did all that?” I asked.

“Yep. The poof worked me over pretty good considerin’ he’s a bloody puppet,” he said cheerfully.

“Then why the positive ‘tude?” I asked.

“I still shagged Buffy and she didn’t mention him once,” he said deviously. I rolled my eyes. The two of them are so juvenile.

“Does Buffy know she’s a… whatever she is… to the two of you?” I asked archly.

“Oi, don’t give me that. It’s not my fault that I can smell the sexual frustration coming off you and your lady love,” he retorted with a lewd waggle of his eyebrows. I sputtered a few times before just walking away. I had a puppet armor to fix.

“Fred!” Tony hollered, making my sigh. I couldn’t possibly imagine what was the problem this time. He came out of the broken office, floating on shaky repulsors.

“What, Tony?” I asked.

“It’s the puppets! The puppets are the demons! They’re sucking the souls out of the kids through their songs, you just have to mute it!” he exclaimed, catching everyone’s attention. We all made our way to the office, cause this was something we just had to see.


	25. The End of the Thread and Needle War

Now, I know I’ve never actually been to the TV station and I’ve only been looking at it through SHIELD satellite surveillance, but it seemed a lot different knowing that it was a hotbed for magical life sucking energy. And demon puppets. Couldn’t quite get over that. Demon. Puppets. Sesame Street gone Lower Realms.

“The door isn’t warded,” Wesley said softly, pulling a talisman away from the metal.

“No technological security either. At least, its inactive,” I replied.

“I might have sorta fried it the last time we were here,” Tony told me.

“So, we’re clear?” Pepper asked.

“Yeah, we are,” I replied.

Pepper reached forward and put her hand on the door. Within seconds it turned to a molten puddle at our feet. I gave her a very droll look.

“Really? Was that really necessary? I could have just turned the handle,” I pointed out.

“Now they can’t lock it behind us,” she said simply.

“You know you’re exhibiting the same emotional-response mechanism as Tony, right?” I asked.

“I had noticed that as well,” Wesley chimed in.

“It’s the Extremis. I postulated that it was one of the most likely side-effects,” I replied.

“Enough talk, I’m here to kick some demon ass,” Angel said, jumping over the hot metal and striding into the building with the regular sized Caladbolg slung over his puppet shoulder. Tony immediately lifted off the ground and took off after him. It was incredibly adorable to see the Puppet Armor in action.

The remaining four of us, Wes, Charles, Pepper, and myself, shrugged and followed them in. It was as creepy as they had described. You’d think we’d be noticed but the workers just kept moving past us. Even the ones producing the show were in a trance. Everything on stage looked like your standard children’s show except the puppets were moving on their own. I spotted a large anthropomorphic dog, a weird purple egg looking guy with a vuvuzela up his nose or it was his nose, along with two quote-unquote children puppets.

They were singing about something. Self-esteem, I think? I wasn’t listening because I was so focused on my talisman to make sure the song itself wasn’t weaving a spell over us. There was no reaction in the talisman. I looked up and saw the male child one heading for one of the cameras with a strange demonic look on his felt features. Suddenly, Angel in puppet vamp face came to mind. The features shifted regardless of the form.

“Tony! Blast the puppet!” I yelled at him, making all the attention turn towards us. The puppet armor let out a double repulsor blast but the evil puppet got away. The camera, however, didn’t survive.

“Wesley! Go!” Angel hollered at him, lunging at the boy. Charles roared and got in on the brawl, swinging his axe and decapitating the dog.

“It’s a full scale attack! Ratio! The Nest Egg!” the boy screamed. The purple thing, Ratio apparently, bounded after Wesley with an awkward squeak in every step. Pepper burned through the set within seconds, leaving Tony to take clear shots at the other demons. That literally left me standing there. I summoned Helswath to my hand and took off running after Wesley and that purple thing.

“It’s time to kick your ass all the way back to hell,” Angel yelled. I shuddered at the fact he just said that. As a puppet. I had to keep telling myself this will all be over soon.

“I’m going to tear you a new puppet hole, bitch!” the boy yelled back at him. Soon. Over soon.

I could hear Wesley chanting in Latin as I turned the corner into the DON’T room. In that moment I saw the purple thing bringing a fire extinguisher down towards Wesley’s head. He was too engrossed in his spell casting to notice or even take out his guns. My fist clenched and time came to a near halt. It was less taxing on me that way. The full stops are really hard on both my body and mind. So, with a single, rough swipe of my axe, I sliced that thing in half, making the extinguisher start to fall. I pulled that away nice and easy before I let time speed up again. Wesley looked understandably startled but regained his composure nice and quick.

“Fred! The binding magic is really, really, strong. Unless it’s damaged, I don’t think my spell is going to work,” he explained quickly.

“Gimme your talisman, I’ve got an idea,” I said. Thankfully, he never liked to argue with me so he just handed it over. I took his and mine and wrapped them around the outside of my hand like brass knuckles and punched the nest egg thing. The talisman’s shattered but it worked enough. The nest egg had cracked. Wesley immediately started chanting while I hurried back from it.

“Fred! Can you get us out of here?” he asked urgently. Judging by the building magical energy that was about to be explosively released from the repository, it didn’t take much for me to guess why he was worried. I grabbed him by the hand and slowed time to a near stop once more. He took a brief moment to look around in our altered time state before we ran out of the room and back to the main room.

“I always thought you had some extremely enhanced speed, but you only affect time instead. That’s incredible,” he said in awe. I blushed a little, well, I would if I wasn’t blue. But even in my stunted state I felt a little warmth in my chest at his praise.

“In a way altering tachyons is the same thing as hyper acceleration, but I get your meaning,” I said sheepishly. Slowly, I let time speed up back to normal so I didn’t shock him too badly with it. We looked around the, er, battlefield. Decapitated dog, check. Torn to pieces little puppet girl, check. Charles pulling cotton from his mouth… check and ew. Impaled and torn up little puppet boy, check. We got them all.

“Hey, guys? Shouldn’t we get out of here before the staff wakes up?” Pepper asked.

“Probably,” Charles replied. The six of us headed quickly out of the studio and had to jump over the melted puddle of door again.

“It’d be nice to close that behind us,” Tony said cheekily.

“Hey, it was a good idea at the time,” Pepper said defensively.

“Everything good with the repository?” Angel asked.

“All good. You two should be back to your normal… normal-ish… selves in a few days,” Wesley said wryly.

“Tony! I’m going on vacation the moment you’re back to normal, okay? Argue and I’ll lock you in that suit,” I told him.

“Wow, this will be the first time you’ve ever taken a vacation since meeting me,” he replied.

“She didn’t take any with us either. I’m not sure she’s ever taken a vacation,” Angel chimed in.

“I don’t know if she can handle the inactivity,” Wesley mused.

“I’m offended by that, and I won’t be inactive. I’ll have Natalie with me,” I said smugly.

“Oh, it’s that kind of vacation,” Tony said with a perverse grin on his puppet face.

“Damnit, Tony,” I grumbled.

“Pep, you and I need to take a vacation like that. I’m thinking Monaco,” Tony said.

“Wait, what?” Pepper replied, spinning around to face him.

“Nina and I should take a little time off since the full moon’s done,” Angel mused.

“Where are you two going?” Charles asked me.

“Tahiti. I hear it’s a magical place,” I replied automatically. Damn you, Phil, for ingraining that in me.


	26. Back to the Grind

Tony slid by me in the lab and dropped a prototype RT node on my desk. He was dressed in his super high-tech jumpsuit which meant he was trying to get the synthetic telekinesis down again. We must have spent… way too much time on that blasted project but we did the make most adaptable jumpsuit ever. NASA has been talking with Pepper a lot on acquiring it for its astronauts.

“You’re whistling still, Fred,” he stated. With a flick of his wrist all the components to the Mark XLII lifted off the ground and floated calmly around him. For now. It always started calm but it was bound to get calamitous soon.

“I’m humming as well, Tony,” I replied knowingly. He extended his arms and the pieces started flying at him at a reasonable pace and latching on properly. So far, so good. Doesn’t mean my adrenaline isn’t picking up a bit waiting for the bad to start.

“That’s because you went to an island paradise and got the four s’s,” he stated as the leg pieces adhered to him.

“Four s’s?” I asked warily.

“Sand, surf, and sun,” he stated.

“That’s three,” I pointed out.

“Oh, and sex,” he said bluntly, just as the chest piece hit him way to hard and knocked him flat. There it is.

“Tony!” I exclaimed, rushing to his side. Once I got it off of him and brought up the diagnostics on his ribs. They weren’t broken but they probably hurt like hell. Then I slapped him. He started laughing and rolled over onto his hands and knees to catch his breath.

“You’re telling me… that you spent a week in Tahiti sharing a bed… with THAT woman… in a SHIELD safe house and you two didn’t?” he asked, taking deep breaths. I flushed bright red and all the moments Nat and I prevented each other from getting dressed or just tore the clothes off each other flew through my mind. A week in paradise and we spent little time enjoying the scenery. Her bikini… I don’t care what she says about her scars, she is the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen in a skimpy black bikini.

“I! We! That’s none of your business!” I stated sharply, jumping to my feet.

“How much disinfectant do you think they needed to use after you two left?” he asked.

“Tony!” I exclaimed, heading back to my desk.

“Cut me some slack, you just got back after a week of not having you around and Pepper and I are leaving for Monaco in two hours. I need to get my jokes in when I can,” he replied.

“I’m surprised she’s agreeing. After all, you were nearly humping her leg as a puppet,” I reminded him teasingly. Tony glowered at me in response.

“I’d like everyone to forget what I may or may not have done under the effects of…” he trailed off.

“Puppet Cancer?” I asked.

“I did not have Puppet Cancer!” he declared, sending me into a fit of giggles.

“How did your new reactor core stand up to the nest egg magic?” I asked.

“I’ve run every test I can think of and surprisingly… it’s perfectly fine. It was even perfectly fine when mystically condensed to the size of a half dollar. So, good job on translating an Expo layout into a functional atomic design,” he told me.

“Sir, Agent Coulson is on the line,” JARVIS stated.

“Um, I’m busy. No, wait, I’m not here,” Tony said.

“I’ll take the call, JARVIS. Put him on speaker though,” I said with a grin.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

“Really, Fred?” Tony asked quietly. I just kept grinning at him.

“Mr. Stark?” Phil asked, the holopanel with all his information floating in front of us.

“He’s not available right now, Phil. Won’t be for a few days,” I stated.

“That’s too bad, because SHIELD is in need of some extracurricular help,” he replied.

“Why? What can’t your scores of little wooden soldiers do?” I asked.

“We would prefer one tin one, actually,” he said.

“Phil? Details would be nice,” I stated.

“There’s a high-ranking terrorist in Los Angeles. British expat by the name of Emil Blonsky,” he explained.

“Blonsky? I know that name. He came up in our investigation into Vanko,” I said quickly.

“He’s one of the deadliest fighters on the planet and he’s part of a terrorist organization that Mr. Stark has run afoul with. The Ten Rings,” he added. Tony dropped the gauntlet in his hand and stared at me with a haunted look.

“Ten Rings. Those are the guys that abducted Tony and worked with Stane, right?” I asked as evenly as I could.

“Right. If we sent a tactical ops team into play against Blonsky, we’d lose most our guys and I can’t guarantee any civilian safety. That’s why I’m asking for Iron Man’s intervention,” he said.

“Um. Hold on a second. I need to… talk… to myself,” I said, tapping the mute button.

“Fred,” Tony said immediately after but I stopped him from continuing with a gentle, calming gesture.

“Wait, Tony. Let me say this first: I’ll take care of it,” I told him.

“He asked for Iron Man,” Tony replied.

“And he’ll get Iron Man. I’m on the short list, remember? Plus, I’m a better trained fighter than you, I’m not about to go on a much-needed vacation with Pepper, and I’m also not extremely rattled by his connections. I’m also nigh-invulnerable. What other arguments do you have?” I asked.

“I hear Ten Rings and I get nervous. I think of you and the Ten Rings and I get scared,” he said. My determine glare softened. It takes a lot for him to up and admit something like that.

“I can tell. I’ll take the Mark XIV out and handle him. You and I have put a lot of work into making that our best generalist suit,” I said.

“The Agent’s still on the line,” he pointed out. His way of conceding. I unmuted the call.

“Phil, you still there?” I asked.

“Are you done discussing this with yourself?” he asked.

“I have a question. Why is Blonsky in Los Angeles?” I asked.

“Unknown. That’s what worries me. Ten Rings activity is a five-year low thanks to Iron Man and our intelligence network isn’t coming up with anything. You connecting him to Vanko is also disconcerting. Do I have Iron Man’s help?” he asked.

“As I said, Tony is unavailable for the next few days, but Iron Man will be there to help,” I replied.

“Thank you, Dr. Burkle. I’m sending the information now,” he said before closing the line.

Tony and I watched as video file after video file opened up in front of us, all showing Emil Blonsky in action going back thirty years. At least fifty files opened up about the weaponry he was known to use. Then came his confirmed kill list and it was nauseatingly long.

“There are entire squads on this list. Special Ops squads just… rubbed out…” I muttered in shock.

“I’m not leaving you alone on this. I’m canceling the trip,” Tony replied.

“No, go. I’m serious. I can handle this. Bullets can’t hurt me, remember?” I reminded him.

“Fred,” he argued.

“Go,” I implored him.

“You will be alright after this and you will contact me immediately after its done,” he said sternly. I kissed his cheek and nudged him towards the lab exit. A nudge from me, well, you can’t ignore that anymore.

“I will. I promise. Go. Have fun in Monaco. Drive the STI sponsored car if you want,” I said.

“You know what? I will. That’ll be adventurous,” he said, heading up the stairs. The moment the doors slid shut I let out a shaky breath.

“JARVIS, can you make any sense of all this? Any reason why he might be in LA? And is there any stronger connections to Ivan Vanko?” I asked uneasily.

“I found a connection to… Eric Savin, ma’am, that I believe SHIELD overlooked,” JARVIS informed me.

“What? Savin? As in the Gala attacker and proto-Extremis user?” I asked for clarification.

“The very same. They were a part of a joint anti-terrorism outfit between the United States Army and the British Royal Marines a decade ago,” he explained.

“That’s not much. Anything else?” I asked.

“Current surveillance puts him sitting at a coffee shop in Northridge,” he replied. Security camera footage showed him calmly drinking his coffee but there was no one around. Probably because he an assault rifle dangling from a shoulder strap, a pair of high caliber handguns on the table, a machine pistol on his hip and a shotgun with a grenade launcher underbarrel resting against his legs.

“Son of a… police are on their way, right?” I asked.

“There is an all-units call out,” he confirmed.

“JARVIS, prep the Mark XIV for counter-terrorism but switch out anything meant for tanks or heavy artillery and replace it with anti-personnel equipment. He’s wearing old Stark Industries protective gear,” I said, trying to remain calm. Oh, the irony, right?

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied. The suit stepped off the pedestal and walked over to our armory. I called up Phil once again. If he wanted me to do this, I needed a favor. Actually, that’s not quite right. I am doing this but there was something that SHIELD needed to do first.

“Agent Coulson speaking,” he said.

“Phil, the local blues are getting involved. It’ll be a massacre. I need you to get them off the scene until I can arrive,” I told him.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied.

“Ma’am, the Mark XIV is ready,” JARVIS announced. I took a deep breath. So am I.


	27. The Monster Mash

JARVIS had a display up for me, showing Blonsky was aiming his rifle right at the police line but they were hiding behind their vehicles. His target obviously wasn’t officers or even civilians. He was stalling and that made me nervous. Not nervous enough to change my flight path, though. I came in fast and landed in the signature fist down punch that Tony always does. I totally understand why the pavement always cracks, too. That is one forceful landing.

“Emil Blonsky. To what do we owe this displeasure?” I asked. JARVIS used the external speakers to project Iron Man’s custom voice instead of mine.

“Lookin’ for the blue bint. Deathly curious to find out what I got to do to kill ‘er,” Blonsky stated cockily.

“Don’t know when you’re biting off more than you can chew, do you?” I asked.

“Step off, tin man. I got a date,” he replied, readying his rifle yet again.

“Yeah, how ‘bout no?” I said, hitting him with a flurry of anti-personnel rounds. And that, my friends, is how you take out a soldier that’s thinks he’s too big for his britches. Those rounds blew clean through his protective gear and perforated his internal organs.

“Succinctly done, ma’am. It’s impressive to see your demon hunting skills applied through bleeding edge technology,” JARVIS told me.

“Thank you, JARVIS,” I replied internally.

“Ma’am, he seems to be getting up,” JARVIS corrected us quickly.

“That’s improbable. Those wounds would cause death in 1.64 seconds,” I said. But even as I said that, I saw him pushing himself up to his feet, using his rifle as a brace. The barrel twisted and bent under his grip before starting to heat up dramatically. All sorts of biofeedback data started appearing on my HUD and it looked like something familiar.

“I believe Mr. Blonsky is under the influence of an Extremis variant,” JARVIS said.

“Yeah, but mixed with what?” I asked, firing the last of the anti-personnel rounds through him. He staggered again, but this time his muscles visibly engorged as he got up. The rifle turned into a metal bat when he shattered it against the neck joint of my suit.

“89% suit integrity,” JARVIS announced. Blonsky was a lot stronger than the normal Extremis parameters. I grabbed the remains of the warped and twisted rifle from his hand and jammed it up through his neck and out the back. He gave a gurgling laugh and simply pulled it out, letting it melt away in the heat of his hands. The skin warped and twisted as it healed.

“Y’see, I couldn’t give two shits about you… tin man. You’re nothing without that scrap metal wrapped around you. No, she’s the one. Illyria is evolved. Better than you. I need to see by how much,” Blonsky growled out with a weird rough flang on his voice like his body was changing from the inside out. I threw a fast punch and he enveloped my arm in his, catching me in an elbow lock. Didn’t hurt, cause I’m me, but it was damaging the suit a whole lot. Arm integrity dropping like a rock in a pond.

“And just how are you going to prove that?” I asked. He tried to break my elbow by inverting the joint, but all he did was fracture the suit. He couldn’t do anything to my arm.

“I’m going to kill her,” he said with a demented grin. I fired off a repulsor shot at lethal energy outputs from my other glove and it burned his face severely. Didn’t kill him, though. That would be the Extremis healing factor at work. However, unlike Extremis, when the skin grew back it left him looking rougher like he had a thicker hide. Like scar tissue but just all kinds of unnatural.

Blonsky grabbed my hand in his to force us into an up-close grapple. He could tell he was destroying the Mark XIV armor but he must not have studied up on Iron Man that well. He had his chest in front of the central RT node.

“JARVIS, reroute all power to the chest piece for a unibeam,” I instructed internally.

“It is done. I must remind you, ma’am, that the suit will be rendered nonfunctional for thirty seconds afterwards while rebooting the systems,” JARVIS warned me.

“Do it,” I said.

He triggered the unibeam and it hit Blonsky in the chest as he destroyed the glove in his hand. The flesh and muscles burned away pretty quickly under the intense energy beam. He pulled his fist away and punched the RT node with a staggering amount of force, effectively shutting down the blast.

“Well now. That ain’t a man behind the iron mask right now, issit?” he asked lowly, grinning at me with his hideously scarred face. The flesh started to grow back before my eyes and it wasn’t just replacing what I had damaged, Blonsky was doubling in size to become this horribly repulsive monster.

As the suit came back online JARVIS flagged the twenty-seven civilians and fourteen local blues around us. So far, we’d caused catastrophic damage to the café and to the street. We were one more repulsor blast away from strike the underground gas main, the sewage line, and the overhead electrical cabling. Prospective blast radius easily encompassing all non-combatants.

“Ma’am, I highly recommend you relocate this elsewhere,” JARVIS stated.

“Thrusters online?” I asked.

“Ten seconds,” JARVIS replied.

I rushed forward and checked Blonsky with my shoulder, knocking him to the ground. He destroyed my gauntlets, so the other thrusters I had left were my boots. I wasn’t going to risk a kick for him to break those. Instead, I wrapped my gloved hand around his throat and started to throttle him. One slam back onto the pavement was enough to crack it severely but only enough to piss him off. Two caused his skull to collapse momentarily.

The moment the thrusters came back online we shot off into the sky and out of Los Angeles. He fought me and swung at the suit, compromising it more and more each time. He used the machine pistol at point-blank range into the torso but no bullets actually reached me thanks to the plating we used. Not that it would have mattered.

“Almost there,” I muttered. The moment the desert appeared underneath I took us into a steep dive, easily breaking the sound barrier and injuring him further. The more I hurt him the more he grew though, and that was scaring me a lot.

“Impact imminent!” JARVIS announced.

“JARVIS, detonate Mark XIV on impact! Eject!” I exclaimed. The suit released me out the back into midair while Blonsky slammed into the ground and the suit exploded into a major searing hot fireball. The blast wave knocked me backwards and I crashed into desert floor, creating a decent sized crater. I was dizzy and a little winded but otherwise unharmed. There was no way, Extermis or not, that Blonsky survived that. The serum must have overloaded trying to recover.

That’s when the ground shook like a localized earthquake, making me steady my stance. Out of his crater came a monster easily reached fifteen feet tall. His spine was practically sticking out of his back and he had spikes coming out of his knees and elbows. His veins seemed to be burning from the Extremis even now and his eyes looked like I was staring into the pit of hell. Now, I’m very knowledgeable about a great deal of demons and otherworldly creatures, but that wasn’t right. That was... awful. That was a science experiment gone so horribly wrong. That thing was an abomination. Was there anything of Blonsky left in there? I couldn’t tell.

My default reaction was to turn blue, obviously. The Abomination roared and charged across the thirty yards that separated us. Each step shook the ground underneath my feet and left massive footprints in the desert floor. He pulled his massive fist back to hit me but I slowed time and ducked under his blow, letting me hit him a hard-enough uppercut to send him airborne. He crashed back down in another small crater and a cloud of dirt. I know I felt a bunch of bone snapping under my fist but I’d wager to bet it was healed up by now.

The Abomination came out the cloud faster than I anticipated and struck me in the face and shoulder with a single punch. It didn’t move me much, so we just started swinging and wailing on each other trading blows back and forth. I finally had enough of getting punched in the face so I dilated time to escape again, letting me get behind him and slam him into the ground with my foot. I grabbed him by his protruding spine and yanked backwards, trying to a variant of the Marcus Hamilton.

It didn’t work. He threw an elbow back at me and I felt one of the bone spikes impale me through my side and right through a kidney. I gasped in shock and jumped away from him. It wasn’t fatal and it was already healing. I was very thankful that my healing factor at least matched his. The Abomination rolled over and kicked me hard in the chest, sending me back a few feet as he stood back up.

“I gotta admit, I’m ‘mpressed. You’re a lot tougher that I figured you’d be,” he said in a massively distorted and monstrous sounding voice. They must have used demon parts in his super soldier cocktail and I’m willing to bet that he knew that going in. He seemed like the type to not care about that kind of thing. On the plus side, I guess, it seemed that Blonsky was still in there.

“I get underestimated a lot,” I said emotionlessly. I was pulling hard on my powers which meant I was sinking deeper and deeper into Illyria than ever before. My hand grazed over the pocket on my jumpsuit where Lindsay’s knife was. The Abomination and I weren’t invulnerable and our skin wasn’t impervious. I just had to get his chest open and I could finish this. Most creatures can’t regenerate an extracted heart.

“Well, I guess I’m not, then. C’mon. Give me everything you got. Lemme prove I’m more evolved than you,” he goaded me. I was going to do just that.

To his eyes I practically teleported at him as I took him down. We crashed onto the ground while I drew Lindsay’s knife and turned it into a sword again. I rammed it through his neck and pinned him to the ground with it, letting his brackish blood spew everywhere. I clasped my hands together and slammed them down on his ribcage as hard as could making his bones let out a sickening crack. His knee came up and stabbed right though my thigh but it didn’t faze me. I kept slamming my hands down until I felt it all give way.

His flailing to get me off him and the sword out of his neck actually broke the magical blade off at the hilt, leaving only six inches of jagged blade left. That was exactly what I need. I picked up and stabbed him in the chest to tear open a big enough hole. The hands that have done major surgery on most of my demon fighting friends plunged into the gash and grabbed ahold of his wildly beating heart. With a great tear I ripped the thick leathery organ free and crushed it in my grip, spraying brackish blood everywhere. His struggling ceased almost immediately and I finished this Abomination off by ramming the broken blade through his skull and twisting hard enough to shatter the rest of the sword.

“I win,” I stated bluntly as I staggered away. The Extremis started to activate as the body fully expired, reducing the monstrosity to a pile of ash within minutes. I tried to let go of the blue and revert back to warm and emotionally there Winifred Burkle, only… I couldn’t. I’d breathe and release only I was acting like a rubber band and snapping back to this state. I’d say it terrified me if I was capable of feeling terror at that moment.

“JARVIS, say something,” I spoke to the air. While the suit was irrevocably damaged, the nanotech earpiece us humans at Casa de Stark had implanted was completely undamaged. The wind was blowing pretty hot through the desert but I was from Texas so it wasn’t that bad. Actually, and this was disconcerting, I couldn’t feel the wind on my skin. I could tell my blue hair was blowing in it because I could see it but I couldn’t feel it due to the natural numbness of my Illyria state. I’ll be honest, it terrified me in the deep intellectual parts of my brain because it couldn’t touch my emotional cortex.

“Agent Phil Coulson is en route in a SHIELD Quinjet to your location, ma’am,” JARVIS informed me.

“Tell him to land upwind of the site. They should not inhale this ash,” I said.

“Yes, ma’am,” JARVIS replied.

I sat down in the shade next to a boulder, not because I needed to get out of the sun, but because I wanted to on some instinctual level. I tried again and again to let go of Illyria but I couldn’t. That fight pushed me so much further than I ever have gone before. I sank so deep into this state that I can’t even begin to fathom my way out. I wanted to, but only because want isn’t a feeling. I wanted to change back because I understood that this form is extremely limited.

Nothing was working. Nothing. I wanted to feel angry but anger wasn’t enough to pull me out of this fugue. It wasn’t strong enough. Something I discovered in that moment is that wanting to feel angry is a close second to being angry. I lashed out with my fist and shattered the boulder next to me. That was enough to assuage my… curiosity in fake anger at the moment. Just in time, too, since the SHIELD Quinjet passed over head and made for a landing upwind of the ash.

“JARVIS, make a note that after the fight with Emil Blonsky AKA the Abomination, I have found myself unable to revert back from Illyria. Current assumption… reversion will take incredible emotional stimulus,” I said as I watched Phil Coulson walk towards me.

“Noted. Best of luck, ma’am,” JARVIS replied.

“Dr. Burkle! Water?” Phil asked causally, extending a water bottle towards me.

“I am not thirsty, but I thank you and accept the gesture anyway,” I said to him, taking the bottle from his hand.

“Does the blue form keep the heat away?” he asked, glancing around at the very visible heat distortion coming off the desert.

“It does, but this isn’t voluntary at the moment,” I replied.

“I apologize about Blonsky. Our data in no way suggested he’d turn into a giant sewage colored rage monster,” he admitted.

“Neither did ours. I believe he was given a mix of Extremis and demonic endocrine secretions,” I stated.

“We saw the whole thing via satellite. I commend you on your victory. My earlier causality estimation was way off. 100% losses across the board. Thank you for having our back on this one,” he said.

“Why do I sense you are not saying something?” I asked.

“I worry about you Dr. Burkle,” he said quietly, not even looking at me when he said it.

“As you can see, I am still alive despite being impaled through my side and my thigh,” I told him.

“It’s not a physical worry. I worry about you. As a person. Ever since the Gala I’ve seen you sacrifice more and more of yourself and yet you pull through. Always pulling through only to fall further into darkness the next time,” he told me.

“And you fear I am becoming a monster?” I asked.

“No, but you fear that,” he replied just as easily.

“I believe a monster would not have engaged such a foe for the reasons I did,” I pointed out.

“No, a monster wouldn’t. Would you like a lift back to Casa Stark?” he asked.

“I would. Blonsky broke my ride,” I said, standing up. The two of us headed over to the jet.

“I miss your humor, Dr. Burkle,” he said as we climbed in.

“As do I,” I replied.

“Agent Romanov is waiting for us to land. Would you like me to send her back to base until you… get a handle on yourself?” he asked uneasily.

“I would not send her away,” I replied quietly.

“Understood,” he replied, sitting down and buckling in. I could feel something starting to stir very deep in my gut. Unease. Apprehension. Not quite an emotion but I wasn’t looking forward to her seeing me this way. I know what she thinks when she sees the blue and I don’t want to cause her that kind of discomfort. I found my way to a seat and strapped myself in just as the plane lifted off the ground.


	28. Shells

I stood under the water of my shower pretty much unmoving. All of the brackish blood, dust, and ash had long since washed off me and out of my hair, but I just stood there. I was on the verge of reverting. I could feel it. I could feel. It was like I was feeling through quintuple-paned glass, but I could feel. A vibration or something in my soul. Something was holding me back. Something was not letting me revert and I’m pretty sure that was fear. I didn’t want to feel what just happened. If I did, then I could literally feel the damage done to my body and I could feel the emotional reactions to that fight. I trembled a little bit. Just in my hand, mostly, but I was shaking.

The shower door opened and I watched the reflection of Natasha walk in behind me. Her arms wrapped around my waist and she molded her body to mine. I could almost feel the comforting gentleness of her touch but I just couldn’t quite do it. I couldn’t feel her hold me. I couldn’t even look her in the eyes right now. A shudder went through my entire body as I realized how afraid I was. I didn’t want to feel everything that was under the surface. I didn’t want to have to come to terms with the fact that I was almost lost to Illyria today. It was like my soul was on the verge of being burnt away, only leaving a shell behind. Someone that looked like me, had my memories, but was alien to the rest of the world.

I had to only watch as Natasha pulled my soaked mass of hair over to one shoulder and press her lips to my shoulder and neck. My hand started shaking more until I finally clenched my fingers tight enough to restrict their movement. She made eye contact with my inhuman crystalline eyes in our reflection and I could feel my walls cracking apart faster than ever.

“Making the hard call and getting your hands dirty because the world requires it of you doesn’t make you a monster. Doing it for your own enjoyment does. Do you know who told me that?” Natasha asked softly. I swallowed uncomfortably and shut my eyes tight.

“I did,” I replied.

“Yeah. Now I’m telling it to you,” she replied, squeezing me a little tighter.

“I cannot let go,” I muttered.

“I have you,” she said.

“No… I cannot because my legs will cease to support me,” I corrected her.

“And I still have you,” she reiterated.

“I will be battered and broken,” I pointed out.

“And I will take care of you,” she said easily.

“Both inside and out,” I admitted.

“Still here. Still holding you,” she whispered.

That was it. That was all I could take. My emotional cortex burst wide open, washing away the clinging traces of Illyria. The blue vanished from my skin, my eyes, and my hair in an instant. Massive bruising blossomed up immediately in its wake. My whole body burned with intense pain and my legs immediately buckled, but just like she said… she had me. She had me in her near super soldier arms and I didn’t fall. Natasha scooped me up in her arms and turned off the shower before carrying me out to my bed. There were already towels laid out as if she had expected this.

“So? I look as awful as I feel?” I asked weakly.

“Do you feel like you went through a rock crusher?” she asked, running a towel very gently over me.

“More or less,” I replied.

“I think that you’re allowed to look however you wish after taking out that monster,” she told me.

“It’s that bad, isn’t it? I think most girlfriends would lie and say I looked as beautiful as ever,” I said cheekily.

“I make an effort to not lie to you,” she said seriously as she continued to dry me off. I noticed she took a moment to inspect the closed-up impalements I had. Mostly healed but definitely not vanished. They might even scar.

“I know. So, how bad is it?” I asked again.

“You have massive contusions over most of your body that would normally be conducive of a major auto wreck. I’d say you’re more black and blue than anything other color right now,” she replied.

“You should see the other guy,” I joked weakly.

“I did. I watched everything via satellite feed. Why didn’t you just use your axe? Why did you try to fight on his level?” she asked, finally letting her nerves come through.

“I… I don’t know. I didn’t even think of the axe. We started it hand to hand and I never really got beyond it except to use Lindsay’s knife on him,” I admitted. She looked very frustrated with me and wouldn’t reply as she gathered up the other towels, quickly dried herself off and went back to my bathroom with all of that. She came back in, hands running over her face in frustration.

“I want to say that I was scared to death that he’d kill you, but I knew that no matter what he was you’d overcome him. I want to say so many things that couples say but I can’t. I trust you. And you won. You won against an unknown foe with unknown circumstances completely protecting all possible civilian casualties. If SHIELD gave out medals, I’d be insuring that you got one beyond a shadow of a doubt. Instead, I’m left with this irrational panic that I could have lost you today,” she rambled off. Natasha rambling was actually unsettling but the words were endearing.

“So, basically you felt what I feel every time you go on some assignment that has a mission description about as detailed as ‘Goodnight, Moon’,” I remarked. She frowned but crawled in my bed next to me anyway. She was looming over me and I finally felt a reason to call her the Black Widow. I was practically helpless at the moment.

“You feel this heart crushing fear every time I go out on assignment?” she asked.

“No, not every time. Just the times where you can’t tell me anything and JARVIS notes that your cell phone pinged off some extremely dangerous and war-torn country that has literally banned SHIELD from entering its airspace,” I replied. She raised a single eyebrow to which I just smiled at her, despite my split lip.

“You asked JARVIS to track my phone?” she asked amusedly.

“No, he actually volunteered that information. If he wasn’t respecting our privacy at the moment, he’d explain that since you are very… very… dear to me, he was worried about your health and well being,” I explained. She leaned down and kissed the half of my lips that wasn’t injured.

“Very, very dear to you? Due to the nature of my work, I think it’s safe to say I’ve heard just about every romantic declaration ever uttered. But you just surprised me,” she teased, settling in beside me.

“Well… I’d use our usual emotionally compromised, but it felt a little impersonal right now,” I said, wincing as I rolled onto my side to face her.

“I always thought it was appropriate,” she replied. It was my turn to raise an eyebrow but it honestly made it feel like I ramming a dagger through my temple so I abandoned moving that muscle right now.

“You don’t get that soul clenching nightmare twister feeling over being emotionally compromised, Natasha. Look at us. We’re laying in a luxurious bed completely naked and you’ve completely ignored your hormones to take care of me. My closet is almost 35% your clothes by now. We might not be a we, but we are definitely a you and me and not a you-comma-me,” I rambled.

“That… actually made some sense,” she replied thoughtfully, the teasing lilt still in her voice.

“I hoped so,” I replied.

“I felt hollow after you killed him. I didn’t know what to feel. No one was saying anything in the ops center. Everyone was too… taken aback to comment. What you did to him… it was seeing the real Illyria for the first time, wasn’t it?” she asked.

“… yeah. Yeah it was…” I said quietly.

“How did it feel for you?” she asked.

“It didn’t. I didn’t just feel hollow. I was hollow. I… it was windy… but I only intellectually know it. It was hot, but that was because I could see the heat rising off the desert. It was like I wasn’t really standing there, even if I was. And even worse… I couldn’t let it go. I tried, and tried, and tried, but I was locked in. Completely,” I described with a shudder.

“I brought you back, though,” she said.

“That’s because you are very, very dear to me. Phil asked me if he should extract you before I arrived here but I knew that you were my only real chance at the moment to break out of that glass box,” I explained.

“Fred…” she replied. I silenced her with an impatient gesture of my hand.

“I’m… going to fix me. Once we’re done with Vanko and this mess is over. I’m going to fix me before the five-year span expires. I don’t want to wait this curse out. I do… and there’s nothing left of me,” I continued.

“I think that’s the best option…” she said uneasily.

“Don’t want a girlfriend that’s stronger than you?” I asked cheekily.

“Irrelevant,” she said immediately.

“Don’t want a girlfriend you’re scared of?” I asked in a much more subdued tone.

“You won’t hurt me,” she said.

“How do you know that? That sentiment is borne out of how people feel about each other and Illyria literally doesn’t feel. Nervous system or emotional complex,” I argued.

“Because, feelings or not, you know you lo… um, rather… I’m very, very dear to you,” she said. I caught her Freudian slip but I let it go.

“I wish I had your confidence but today has just confirmed what everyone thought. There’s a monster in me. A necessary monster, but one nevertheless. If my demon hunting days taught me anything is that Angel could turn into Angelus, no matter how much he didn’t want to,” I said. I felt her hand grab mine and intertwine our fingers. I rolled over and tucked into her side, secretly reveling in the warmth I felt coming off her body and the way her skin felt on my cheek. I could feel her breath on my ear and her hair brushing against my back. Comforting feelings. Enough to make me cry with happiness.

“Ma’am, I apologize for interrupting, but you should know that Mr. Stark was involved in an accident in Monaco. Ivan Vanko has attacked him. The Mark V proved adequate in subduing Vanko, though he did escape police custody later that night,” JARVIS announced.

“I see. Has Tony been apprised of what happened to me today?” I asked, not lifting my head off Natasha’s chest.

“He has. He says: you win,” JARVIS replied with some humor in his voice.

“That’s me… I feel like a winner,” I replied unenthusiastically.

“I hope you feel better soon, ma’am,” JARVIS said.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“You’re going to fall asleep on me, aren’t you?” Natasha asked me. I could hear the affectionate smile in her voice.

“As often as I can,” I replied softly, right before I drifted off.


	29. Preparations (Alpha Timeline)

“James! Would you get in your suit already?” I asked, soldering the last bit in place and tossing the chipset to Tony.

“I’m still wrapping my brain around the fact that it’s mimicking my body movements!” he replied, waving his arms about and watching the suit do the same. A regular vaudeville act, he was.

“Yes, I know. It’s fascinating. That’s all because of the jumpsuit. Now would you get in there so JARVIS can help you calibrate that thing?” I demanded.

James finally listened and stepped up to the quote-unquote War Machine armor (he named it, not me or Tony) which opened up to let him in just like the rest of the Iron Man armors. The suit absorbed him easily and he started moving around awkwardly as he got the ropes. Seeing that that was fixed, I turned my attention to Tony.

“Are the grounding coils working?” I asked.

“Yeah. We’re actually lucky Vanko attacked me at Monaco. It gave me an insight into how he thinks. The electric whips were a good idea and did wreck the Mark V, but we’ll be ready this time,” he said.

“As long as he doesn’t double the cycles,” I pointed out.

“You saw that too?” he asked distractedly.

“Yeah. Double the cycles. JARVIS showed me the battle analytics before the Mark V was decommissioned. His design was powerful but the output could be so much greater,” I trailed off.

“I probably shouldn’t have said that to him, then,” he commented sheepishly. Well, as sheepish as Tony Stark could possibly get.

“Great. We need to hope he didn’t listen,” I said nervously. Vanko always listens.

“Well, as long as he doesn’t go on the burning E, too,” he said as some consolation.

“He won’t. Ethically speaking, at least. I doubt after seeing what happened with me he’d be willing to experiment on himself,” I said, checking over the helmet of Tony’s ill-fated synthetic telekinesis suit. Luckily, we have a better use for the Mark XLII. We took inspiration from me using the Mark XIV as a bomb against Blonsky and decided that if needed, we can just take out Vanko with an exploding suit. We even busted out the old Nitramene formula to give it a bigger punch. A much bigger punch.

“His jail cell was melted and every guard in the way was burnt to death. Someone was on it and they broke him out,” he pointed out.

“Yes, but it wasn’t him. One, you can’t really hide it that well when you’re on Extremis. Two, he would have shown signs during your throw down. Like, not being able to thrown him down,” I said.

“Ma’am, the tests passed your modified protocol,” JARVIS announced. I glanced at my screen and blindly tossed the helmet to Tony. Everything was ready with this new teal serum. Just a quick button press with the new automated system and I had two syringes ready to use. I finally got around to it!

“Excellent. Angel! Spike! Get down here!” I yelled, making them run down the stairs into the garage. I knew they would fuss and argue and Angel would get all depressive about his duty to remain in the night, blah, blah, blah… so I slowed time, walked over to them and stabbed them both in the neck. Time sped up once I got back to my desk and they howled like babies.

“What was that?!” Spike demanded.

“Something Wesley and I worked on. A techno-sorcerous serum meant to replicate and accelerate the properties of the Gem of Amara for protection against Extremis powered enemies. And general dying for the next three days. Regeneris of Amara if you will,” I said, subtly gesturing with my head for Pepper to come over.

“Does it work?” Angel asked. Pepper stepped up behind them and went into full burn, making them jump in shock and recoil behind me.

“I’d say so,” Pepper replied cheekily. It also proved that the heat-impervious jumpsuit we made Pepper was a success! Otherwise, she’d be standing there naked. And she wasn’t.

“Damnit, Fred!” he exclaimed. I chuckled and went back to work on the last piece of the Mark XLII. Unfortunately, Spike and Angel followed. I could feel the nagging concern radiating from them.

There was so much chaos around here and, on some level, I really did thrive on it. The dramatic pulse-beat of the garage right now fit in with the rhythm in my brain. But while I could keep track of Tony and James working on his suit, Pepper and JARVIS talking, and Angel and Spike following me, I felt like my attention was being torn in too many directions.

“What is it?” I asked blandly.

“You’re not acting like you, pet. It’s worrisome,” Spike said.

“Not acting like me… how?” I replied, flipping the gauntlet over and swapping out some parts. It still felt -weird designing a suit as a bomb. Almost like we were betraying the great spirit of Iron Man. That’s how my brain’s working right now. I think of crap like that. But I’d be lying if I wasn’t concerned about how the public would react to explosible Iron Man armors.

“You just injected us with experimental immortality serum and then tried to set us on fire to see if it works. Without asking,” Angel said.

“Maybe it’s because I don’t have time for any arguments, Angel. Maybe we need you two tomorrow and there was a major weakness that needed shoring up. Sorry I couldn’t hold your hand through it,” I replied quickly and crossly, tossing that piece to Tony, too.

“Fred! We’re all good on the Prodigal Son. JARVIS and I got Iron Legion working right and I put him at the helm so we won’t have any unforeseen elements there!” Tony called out, referencing the rogue VI we had a while back.

“Thank Cordy! That’s something off my mind,” I replied.

“Just how much do you have on your mind?” Spike asked.

“JARVIS, can you display the project files of everything I’m working on for the assault on the old Stark Industries complex?” I asked sweetly. The area around us filled up with holopanels, explaining to them why I’m acting a little harsh and cruelly reminding me of how much needs doing. Suddenly, a third of them turned red.

“Ma’am. I believe we can remove these as the projects have concluded,” JARVIS said.

“Good point, thank you,” I said. Those highlighted panels disappeared. I didn’t point out that it didn’t stop me from reviewing them in my head or generally stressing over them. I caught Angel peering a little too closely at one of the panels. I quickly dismissed it.

“Fred, what was that? It said something about removing powers?” he asked.

“After this is done, us here at Casa de Stark are fixing ourselves. Tony’s getting his heart fixed, I’m suppressing the Extremis in Pepper’s DNA the best I can and I am getting rid of Illyria,” I explained succinctly.

“You’re what?” Spike demanded.

“James! Hold still!” Tony griped, actually jumping off the step ladder onto the War Machine suit to access some of the mechanics in the repulsor cannon. I told him to do that before he installed it but he wouldn’t listen. The fact that I was smiling at that display was proof enough of why I needed Illyria gone.

“Illyria is a curse disguised as a blessing. The longer I spend locked away inside that emotionless state, the greater chance I won’t come out of it. I learned that the hard way and there is no amount of power worth destroying my soul over,” I argued quickly and succinctly.

“Yeah, but Lorne said you were made all blue for a reason,” he replied.

“For good or ill, Spike! He said that it was up to me. You don’t get it. Keeping Illyria would be like Angel losing his soul again. That deep down emotionless place I go is not heroic. It’s… awful. What it lets me do is just as awful. I can’t be that person. I owe it to the people I love to get rid of that monster,” I argued, perhaps a little melodramatically. I was turning into Angel. I complained about his live-in-the-night crap and I just gave my own! I needed to be done with this.

“Agents Romanov and Barton have arrived,” JARVIS announced.

“Send them down!” Tony replied immediately from his spot tweaking James’ suit. I immediately looked at the approximate location of the front door through the walls and ceiling. Almost like if I could stare hard enough I could see her. I couldn’t deny that after that night where she held me, after Blonsky, I knew I had to be free. By the looks on Angel’s and Spike’s face they knew that when I said people I love, I strongly meant Natasha. I wanted there to be a possibility of a future with me and there wasn’t with Illyria in the picture.

“That’s my cue,” I said, grabbing a bundled-up pile off my desk and heading for the lab entrance. I was absolutely eager to get away from that conversation. Angel grabbed me by my bicep to turn me around. I could just keep going and pull away from him but that annoying thing called my conscience forced me to stop and face him.

“What do you need from me?” he asked me quietly.

“Tomorrow? Your ‘A’ game and Caladbolg,” I replied off the cuff.

“No. After that. Getting rid of Illyria,” he said. I sighed and ran my hand over my face.

“Nothing like you’re thinking. I’ll probably want to sleep at the hotel for a few nights afterwards while I recover,” I replied.

“I’ll make sure your room is ready,” he said. I smiled weakly and headed over to the two agents entering the lab. Tasha was dressed in her skintight catsuit again, which meant I needed to focus. And I don’t mean focus on her. Cause I was focusing on her. I needed to stop. But I couldn’t. Those curves were distracting.

“Clinton. Natasha…” I said with a small smile. She smiled back at me and yes, I felt my heart flutter. I know how whipped I am.

“What’s this about you denying a full SHIELD tac-team?” Clint said with a bit of reproach.

“If it was just arresting Ivan Vanko, I’d say sure. But we’re dealing with an unknown number of Extremis hostiles. Our scans of the facility show a heat blob-dome thing over the whole place. We think he may have repurposed the coolant systems to pipe excess heat straight upward to distort scanners. We can’t pin it down to exact numbers. One guy on Extremis is bad. An army is worse,” I explained.

“And you think we’ll do better,” Clint stated in disbelief. I laid the bundle out on one of less crowded tables, showing them the wide variety of things I’ve been working on. First on display was a modified arrowhead, well, a lot of them. Perfect to go into his custom quiver.

“This will act like a sea urchin. It slides right in and then boom… hundreds of spikes keep it from coming out easy,” I said.

“Yeah, Nat told me about that happening in Tahiti,” he said with a deeply amused chuckle. I like his laugh; it makes me smile just to hear it. Tasha glowered at him for a moment for mocking her pain. She didn’t act like a baby at all, but she did whine a little as I removed the spines from her foot.

“Anyway, once in a target, it releases an endothermic coagulant which will counteract their flawed versions of Extremis and then drop them because of radically decreased blood flow to the brain. Conversely, shoot them in the heart or the head and it’ll just outright kill them without letting them explode,” I explained.

“When did you make that? I was here only a few days ago and you had nothing of the sort,” Tasha said in surprise.

“I didn’t sleep at all after you left. Um, not because you weren’t… um, never mind. I had free time,” I stammered out, my drawl coming back like a hurricane. She smiled sympathetically at me and thankfully moved past that sappy dork-out.

“Any other tricks up your sleeve?” Tasha asked.

“I made a few clips from your standard 9x19mm ammo that are effectively the same idea as his arrowheads. They’re hollow point but instead of just squashing inside a target they splinter and spread by turning liquid after impact but for only a second or so. You tag the target, it penetrates the skin, turns liquid, spreads out, hardens, crystalizes, sea urchins. During that whole process the endothermic coagulant seeps into the target. That’s actually what makes it work. Since it absorbs heat, that’s what allows the bullet to melt and then once the target’s absorbed the coagulant, the metal cools,” I rambled, handing her the stack of specializing marked magazines.

“But we’re still two humans versus living blowtorches,” Clint said. I held up an injector with a spare vial between my fingers.

“Regeneris two-point-whatever. I think it’s 2.78. It does all the stuff you need it to but this one can draw on external heat sources to prolong the effect. You’ll feel a little colder until your drawing heat. Tony put his hand in front of a laser to test it. No damage done because the serum regenerated his cells fast enough using the energy from the laser. Still hurt like hell, though, so don’t purposely grab someone on Extremis. It’ll keep you alive,” I said.

Tony jumped up on top of one of the tables and set off a kind of holographic pulse-wave to get all of our attention. No damage to anything in the physical work but he did rattle all our data until JARVIS fixed it. “Alright everybody! As of right now all tech has been distributed and we’re in the final 18 hours. Rest up. Do what you got to,” he announced.

“Fred, have you given any consideration to what Vanko might have designed to counteract your abilities?” Clint asked me. I frowned at the thought. It’s been haunting me for a while now and my only consultation was that he obvious spent his time building his suit to fight Tony. The blood feud is with Tony. Well, actually, the blood feud is between their fathers, but still. I’m sidelined and I like it that way.

“Some. He designed the process, so he might have a few clever insights. Otherwise, I just need to keep light on my feet,” I said. It was the least and most I could do, really. Other than pray to Cordy, but of course I was going to do that. I was her loyal acolyte and champion.

“Miss Black Widow, if you could escort Fred out of here to make sure she gets some rest, it would be appreciated,” Tony called out. Tasha smirked at me and scooped me up into her arms to which I gave a very well-worded retort. I squawked.

“Nat, put me down! Nat!” I exclaimed as I was so indignantly carried out of the garage in front of everyone. Everyone! Angel was smirking, Spike was laughing, Clint was chuckling, James was entertained, and Tony was damn proud of himself. Even Pepper wasn’t on my side. Could I have broken free and gotten my feet on the floor? Of course. I could overpower her in a heartbeat. But I wouldn’t. I refused to do something like that. Even as she carried me all the way to the living room with that self-satisfied arrogant smirk on her face.

“You stopped struggling,” she said in amusement.

“Put me down, Tasha,” I stated lowly. The look on her face changed. Her eyes grew dark and her gaze kinda hungry.

“Call me that again, but wait until we get to your bedroom,” she whispered hotly.

“No, Tasha. I’ll call you that when I want because I can see how much you like it,” I replied cheekily.

“I adore you,” she said with startling conviction. If my heart wasn’t already beating so hard in response to her… the things she does to me. She started moving again, nearly running into the hall. I squeaked and held tightly to her. I’ll get some rest, y’know, after we settle this Tasha thing. Again, and again, and again.


	30. Pride (Alpha Timeline)

Stark Industries looked completely shut down on our approach. Perhaps parking a half mile away was overkill but it wasn’t like any of us weren’t in the right kinda shape to tackle that. JARVIS gave us another heads up that he couldn’t scan the building with the heat vents active. I ran my safe-cracker through the front gate’s security system again and it came up red. Vanko had put in some severe software upgrades after squatting here. I frowned and told the device to run it again. Visually, there wasn’t any activity in the building ahead of us and everything was still as the grave. I expected a lot more security of the physical sort instead of tech. He knows Tony and I can beat his tech.

“What’s wrong? You said the front gate wouldn’t be an issue,” Angel hissed at me. I leveled a glare at him and he took a few steps back.

“Vanko is crafty…” I replied slowly and carefully since my attention was still on the gate. Even if I did hack through it, he’d know we were here. We needed to step this up.

“I’m starting to think this is a trap,” Clint said.

“Yes, this is probably a trap. Your point?” I asked.

“My point? My point is this isn’t a trap laid by a two-bit mafia thug. This is Ivan Vanko we’re dealing with. 190 IQ, spent fifteen years in a Siberian Prison, and has the same technological expertise as you and Stark. The same guy that managed to alter a human’s genetic structure so severely that he created a person akin to a Hindu goddess of destruction,” Clint retorted.

“I was hoping for more of an Old One demon that ruled the world before mankind existed, but I’ll go for the Kali reference,” I said glibly.

“I’m thinking we should just knock if he already knows we’re here,” Pepper said.

“Good point,” I replied. Pepper struck out with the heel of her palm and broke the gate. The wrought iron metal structure crashed down with an earsplitting bang. No alarms, though. Perimeter security, beyond the gate itself, seemed off. Maybe he wasn’t prepared for us at all. And even if he thought he was, he couldn’t have actually prepared for what we could do, right?

“Rhodey, follow me. We’ll bust in through the factory skylight after giving the place a once over,” Tony said, closing up his helmet and rocketing off.

“Right. You guys need us: holler,” James added before taking off to aid Tony.

“JARVIS, status on the Iron Legion?” I asked.

“All suits are in equidistant proximity from each other above the entire compound. The hexagonal mesh is complete,” he replied.

“Good. Keep this place on lockdown,” I instructed.

“It is done,” he said.

“Let’s go,” I told everyone else.

Clint and Tasha led the pack into lobby of the old facility like seasoned agents. They swept the area with both their eyes and their weapons. The moment we made it through the front doors the screen over the welcome desk came on. It was an old recording. A prerecorded message Howard Stark must have made about 50 years ago. It showed him and another man, Anton Vanko. The screen flickered and stopped. Howard’s face appeared right next to Tony’s. One had ‘death’ written on it in Russian and the other had a target.

“Well, that reinforces the vengeance crusade angle,” Tasha said blandly.

“Who was that?” Angel asked.

“Anton Vanko. Father of our whip wielding mad scientist,” I replied.

“I don’t remember him from the War and that video was pretty close to the Forties,” he continued.

“You wouldn’t. He wasn’t a part of the SSR. He came after you went back to self-flagellation,” I said.

I glanced around, looking to get my bearings but I had never been to this facility before. It’s one of the things I can actually say was before my time with Tony. Because of that, I had to bring up a holopanel with the blueprints on it. Actually, come to think of it, the vast majority of this company’s history was before my time. But at least half of our progress happened since I got here.

“Roof access. Clint, Angel, Spike? You’re up,” I said, gesturing at the door on the far side of the lobby. The three men jogged over there and Angel ripped the door right off its hinges. They hurried up one by one. Angel and Spike were going to stick together but Clint was going to find his bird’s nest and set up shop there.

“We need to go through those doors,” Pepper said, pointing forward.

“Electronic lock. Newly installed. More of Vanko’s security,” Tasha noted.

“Irrelevant. Pepper?” I asked. Pepper strode towards the door, her body slowly starting to glow orange and then her hair appeared to flame up. Her burning hand hit the metal and the whole thing quickly turned to slag. By the time she turned back around she appeared like Pepper Potts always did, just in black agent gear. Which was new. And hot. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Tony found that distracting.

I found an electrical access panel and while I couldn't use it to take down the grid, I could definitely run a diagnostic from there. The holo-map gained a new overlay with all the electrical readouts.

“Got the updated map. Oh, and I’m in position,” Clint said over the comms.

“Eyes on Vanko?” I asked idly, tracing the lines back towards the central arc reactor. All the security measures were run off the generators in the sub-level save the access way to the factory floor. There were some kind of safeguards set up there and being run off the arc reactor. Still, it was nothing we couldn’t handle. We’ve already established that nothing can hurt me for any longer than a few seconds and how could he do worse than the Abomination?

“Reactor, like we thought. There’s machinery around him that I don’t quite recognize,” he replied.

“Describe it for me,” I said, trying to single out where the power from the reactor was going but it was a mess. In essence, there were far too many power signatures on the factory floor that were connected to the reactor to tell them apart.

“Circular. Metal. Arms of some kind. A crate on either side. He’s hugging its edges pretty tight like he’s about to step in the middle,” he described.

“He’s suiting up! Rhodey, we’re going in hot!” Tony declared.

“Tony, don’t be rash!” I said quickly.

“We got this!” he replied. Just as they smashed through the very large skylight, a bunch of lights on my map went out. Something disengaged from the reactor’s power supply. A lot of somethings. Then there was more gunfire than I have ever heard before.

“James? Tony?! JARVIS! Report,” I said anxiously.

“Until the power is disabled, I cannot provide accurate surveillance inside the complex,” JARVIS replied.

“Looks like robotic hostiles, Fred. At least eight that I can see so far. Bullet reports suggest a higher number or maybe turrets inside,” Clint reported.

“Nat, go shut down the power. Fast,” I instructed. She nodded and took off down one of the hallways. I could see the glow of a holo-map as she figured out how to do that.

“Fred! We need you in here before he finishes suiting up!” Tony hollered. I took one look at Pepper and she practically shoved me down the hallway. This way led right through Vanko’s choke point but I couldn’t think about that. What was it gonna be? More bullets? Artillery? It didn’t matter. I gotta get to Tony and I could do that in a blink.

“I’m there,” I quickly, stopping time almost before I finished the sentence.

We spent so much effort figuring out what he was planning to do to counteract Illyria or counteract Iron Man that we failed to ask ourselves if he knew how to counteract Winifred Burkle and Tony Stark. He knew. He completely knew us. Studied us. He knew that Tony would rush in like a bat out of hell so he set a trap. A very dangerous trap that would ensure he would call for backup from me. And me, with my ability to stop time as documented by my many fights up and down the west coast and the south west corridor, would arrive in the next instant. He limited my choices to get there to a single hallway and choke point.

Lining the corridor were sparking nodes creating a layered energy mesh for lack of a better term. At first appearance, I gauged them to be Korcov currents in an attempt to send me into convulsions. It wasn’t hard to push through the field into the Arc Reactor room but I really shouldn’t have. I should have known better than to tempt fate in that way. It didn’t cripple me. It overcharged me.

Time wasn’t just standing still. It was vibrating. Everything was letting out an ultraviolet hum that I could see as clear as day. More than just visible light was revealed to me right then. I could see the heat trails where Iron Man’s weapons had fired. Where War Machine moved while using the shoulder mounted cannon. I could see the trails from the bullets fired by Vanko’s drones. I could see the raw, pulsating energy off the reactors in Vanko’s, Tony’s, and James’s armors, and especially the macro reactor in the center of the room.

Something was utterly wrong. I could feel it in my body. It felt like fire burning through my veins. In my reflection on the panel next to me I could see a vibrant crack in my cheek emitting pure energy. Time energy. Everything the flash of energy touched warped under the effects. Some parts growing old and brittle while others becoming shiny and new. More cracks appeared all along my body, sapping the strength right from me.

Time sped up, drawing everyone’s attention to me. I fell to my knees and slammed my fists into the ground under the incredible duress this overload created. The metal flooring degraded and turned to dust beneath me. I stumbled and crashed down onto the sub-floor a few feet lower.

“No! That is impossible! That is not what my trap is supposed to do!” Vanko cried out in disbelief. He tried to flee but dropped with a small cluster of arrows sticking out of his neck. I screamed and grabbed at my hair as the cracks grew larger across my body.

“Fred! What’s going on?” Tony demanded as he dropped down neck to me. The next second the Iron Man armor was blasted apart and only Tony’s skeleton was left of him. One last scream escape me before I simply vaporized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I realize now that I've posted thirty chapters and gotten no reviews. I don't wanna beg, but I think I gotta. Please, someone, say something about it! Preferably something neutral or good. Thank you.


	31. Hysteria (??? Timeline)

Pain wracked my chest just like when Vanko turned me into this monster. It made me stumble forward but I caught myself on my desk in the garage. Everyone was looking at me funny and with worry. Everyone was there.

And I was in the garage?

That doesn’t make any sense. This happened yesterday. When I took the Amara serum off the desk and stabbed Angel and Spike with them without asking. But I’m alive now and so is Tony. This doesn’t make any sense.

“Pet, you okay?” Spike asked. I shook my head violently, trying to clear the fuzzies.

“And why are you all armored up? You weren’t holding that axe a moment ago,” Angel said.

“Something’s not right…” I muttered, digging my fingers deep into the metal of my desk as another burst of pain worked its way through my chest.

“That’s what I’m saying…” Spike said.

He kept talking but I lost my sense of hearing to this screeching sound. It felt like the world was turned inside out, leaving me in body shaking pain. I gritted my teeth and slammed my hand down, shattering the vials of the Amara serum.

“Stay away from me…” I rasped, digging the upper tip of Helswath into the ground to stabilize myself. Tony made a move to approach me but I kicked my desk into his path. He scrambled back to avoid the flying furniture. “Stay back, Tony! I can’t kill you again!”

That made everyone pause. No one said anything as they tried to process my outburst. If there wasn’t overwhelming physical evidence that I wasn’t just going crazy, I’d say I snapped.

“Ma’am, your vitals are erratic and indicating a panic attack,” JARVIS stated.

“JARVIS, am I… exploding?” I asked worriedly.

“Exploding? Pet, isn’t that a bit extreme?” Spike asked.

“Also, if I’ve listened to your speeches about spontaneous combustion…” Angel trailed off.

“I’m not foolin’ around, Angel! I was just… explodin’… wasn’t I?” I asked worriedly.

“Agents Romanov and Barton have arrived,” JARVIS stated. His voice sounded like it was in an echo chamber.

The world warped and spit me out in the Reactor Chamber of Stark Industries complex right where I remembered exploding. Daylight streamed in through the skylight above me, further confusing my senses. 

“By my calculations, Tony Stark and his allies will mount his assault here within the day. The thermal countermeasures need only be activated and his AI will surely believe there are innumerable Extremis powered soldiers here,” Vanko stated. I scrambled away from the spot and brought my axe to the ready.

“What did you do to me?!” I bellowed at him and the ashen-faced blonde man on the screen. Vanko stumbled backwards and grabbed a machine pistol. No shots were fired once he realized just who was screaming at him. The pistol dangled from his trigger finger before falling to the ground.

“Winifred Burkle. What a surprise to see you here,” the other man said. I gave him a confused look before focusing on Vanko again and then around the room. There were close to thirty drones on chargers. Thirty Iron Man knock offs armed to the teeth. That was what caused the chaos.

“Vanko! What did you build in there?!” I yelled at him, pointing at the corridor I passed through or will pass through.

“Isn’t obvious? He built a trap to destabilize your entire being. At my insistence, of course. Imagine the pain it would cause Tony to watch his beloved partner disintegrate to dust in front of his eyes and be able to do nothing about it? Perfect. And such a just fate for stealing the dream I once had years ago,” the blonde guy ranted with that Extremis glow in his eyes. I took a good look at the monitors and saw a stalkerish level of detail on Pepper and her day including pictures of her surveying the Stark Industries complex. But nothing on her Extremis upgrades. She wasn't that discreet during my rescue, but apparently it escape their notice.

“But she’s not disintegrating. She’s detonating!” Vanko exclaimed in horror.

“Are you… Aldrich Killian?” I asked slowly.

“But of course. Who else could mastermind the utter destruction of Tony Stark and Iron Man? I have been one step ahead of him the whole time! You have been nothing but a pawn in my game!” he declared.

“You're monologuing..." I replied dryly.

"To the victor goes the speeches. Tony Stark must be beside himself knowing that I, someone he discarded like human refuse, has outwitted and outmaneuvered him at every turn!" Killian was clearly crazy. That much was obvious.

"Well, Tony’s still not completely sure you exist. He still thinks you killed yourself like a coward. I don’t think he’d care if found out you’re… ah!” I started to say until I was cut off by another gripping pain in my chest.

I took one belabored step forward and found myself in the Angel Investigations office in the Hyperion. Wesley jumped out of his seat at his desk in surprise.

“Winifred, you startled me. What’s the matter?” he asked quickly, warily taking in my battle-ready appearance.

“Wesley. I need you to be at the raid on Stark Industries. Vanko overloads me and I explode. Bring the darkstone and stop me, please…” I begged him.

“The raid isn’t for four days, Fred,” he pointed out.

“I seem to be bouncing around my own timeline and the epicenter’s timeline. This meeting of ours went very differently the first time,” I said.

“I’m sure,” he replied.

“Please, Wesley. I need you to be there with the darkstone,” I insisted.

“Of course… but with four days advance, I will do everything in my power to prevent the state you’re in,” he said.

I fell backwards and ended up sitting in my little floor crater again. This time it wasn’t just Tony dead. I saw piles of ashes for Angel and Spike, a skeleton that must be Wesley because of the pieces of the darkstone, and a few pieces of the repulsor cannon with another skeleton. That must be James.

“Well, none of this went right,” I heard from behind me, making me whirl around onto my hands and knees. Willow sat there, kneeling and exhausted in the tattered remains of her Sorceress Supreme garb. I didn’t think anything could damage that red cloak of hers.

“It shoulda worked. The darkstone shoulda worked…” I stammered.

“It didn’t, and now we’re holding in the last possible moment before you explode,” Willow replied.

“Again. I’m going to explode again. And then I’ll be jettisoned back to a previous point again, I’m figuring,” I said.

“Right, but from my perspective, this is the first time you exploded,” she countered.

“But what went wrong?” I demanded.

“The darkstone couldn’t drain, contain, or disrupt the energy you’re putting out. It shattered, plain and simple, just like Wesley predicted it would. Given the chance to try again, I could siphon the energy into the Void, but that would only solve one problem. Your suits were annihilated almost immediately. Angel and Spike were dusted the moment they came into the room. They had no defense against your meltdown,” she explained.

“But I made them serums that worked of the same magical principles of the Gem of Amara! Wait… I broke those vials on my second visit to that moment,” I said.

“That wasn’t that smart,” she remarked.

“This meltdown comes with crippling bursts of pain. The vials happened to be under my hand,” I argued.

“And you hit them hard enough to shatter them. Is there any glass left over?” she asked quickly, gesturing for me to turn my hand over. I did and we saw bits of glass and serum stuck to my palm.

“Yes, there is. And that means non-incident matter can travel with me!” I said in surprise.

“And I’m totally non-incident matter-girl over here. If I can travel back with you, then I can take another crack at it and then I can prevent you from exploding altogether!” she exclaimed, grabbing ahold of my hand.

Time let go and I cracked apart all over again before exploding. It hurt like the devil just as I expected before we felt time roll backwards to our last-minute planning session the night before. Willow gave a bit of a mad giggle as we steadied ourselves. The pain hit me again but this time Willow floated the vials out of the way before my hand hit the desk.

“So, this is new,” Willow said with an uneasy grin.

“No time to talk. Angel, Spike, if you two don’t inject yourselves with this serum, you’re both gonna die in the raid. Tony, James, it’s a trap. Vanko has drones and is waiting for you. Don’t walk into the trap. Draw him out. We can’t let the Reactor Room get destroyed. Vanko has details on Aldrich Killian on the computers. He’s behind everything. He has some crazed feud with you, Tony, and he hates me for being picked as Tony’s lab partner when Tony turned him down years ago. There are no Extremis powered individuals in the facility, so Pepper should just go about her day normally. They’re watching her. Don’t let Wesley come, the darkstone won’t work at all,” I said as rapidly as I could. Luckily JARVIS will decode and sift through all of that if need people.

“Agents Romanov and Barton have arrived,” JARVIS announced.

“Seeya,” I said with a regretful wave.

"I need to stay," Willow said, refusing to take my hand again.

I had no idea what I would be leaving behind. It could be a void where a Fred should be or the version of myself that should exist there would exist there. I don’t know. Either way we were now supposed to be in the Stark Industries complex when Vanko met with Killian, only we weren’t. Right place, wrong time.

Time found me right after I was triggered to explode but before anyone died. There was the remains of only one drone and one of Natasha’s batons was sticking out of its reactor core. She was typing rapidly on the computer and robbing their hard drives blind.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Glad to have you… you know what? I don’t know the tense for this kind of thing. This version of you is the most traveled, right?” Natasha asked without turning around.

“You know that I’m…?” I trailed off.

“Of course. Wesley contacted me four days ago to explain what has been going on with you. If your consciousness had remained in the garage last night, you would know that we’re aware. Regardless, are you prepared this time around?” she asked.

“We are,” Willow answered for me as she stepped into my view. She waved her hand and that mystical Slayer weapon appeared in it. I’m pretty sure she said siphon and not stab.

“What’s going on in this timeline?” I asked again.

“Tony and Rhodey are fighting Vanko 2-to-1 in the parking lots after drawing him and the drones out on your advice. Barton and the Iron Legion are taking out the rest of the drones. Angel and Spike are en route to us right now. They took the serum,” Natasha explained.

A small ultraviolet crack appeared on the back of my hand and made me reflexively clench it. That only made it worse and the skin split apart more.

“It’s about to start. You won’t want to look,” Willow told her.

"What Fred has seemed to forget, is that I am her partner. I always want to look," Natasha replied blithely.

"That could have many meanings," Willow pointed out.

I groaned from the sudden pain and collapsed to my knees. I gasped as the cracks started appearing again. Willow slashed the air between us with the mystical Slayer weapon and it folded into a dimensional rift. That’s how she was going to bleed it into the Void. I raised my hand up and felt the energy getting yanked into it. It felt like having poison drawn from a wound in the most painful way possible. Bright white/blue/purple light was ripped from my body until I shuddered and fell onto my hands and knees.

“It’s done,” Willow announced, waving her hand and closing the portal up again. I let out short, staccato breathes as my body shook and tremored from the after effects. The blue of Illyria vanished as well as the armor, leaving me in my casual clothes. I think I earned a good collapse.

“Same here. Every scrap of data Vanko had. JARVIS, care to make a pickup?” Natasha asked.

“Of course,” JARVIS replied.

“I’m alive?” I asked wearily.

“You’re alive. Significantly depowered, but alive,” Willow replied.

“What do you mean by significantly depowered?” Natasha asked, walking over and kneeling in front of me. She began performing basic field medical tests to check how my brain was focusing. Follow the finger, checking my pupils, other consciousness and recognition tests. My brain hurt. I could say as much. There was something missing. Some hollow in my ears where some kind of restless din used to be. I never noticed it because it was just buzzing noise but it’s all I can notice now that it’s gone.

“I feel weak and useless…” I commented in a tone befitting my emotionless counterpart.

“We were pouring out an overflowing pitcher. Think of it as an irregular, lopsided pitcher that was hard to handle. More got poured out than we intended and it was hard to cut off the flow when we wanted it to. I’d say she lost a good forty percent of her power. But forty percent from a nigh-upon goddess still leaves someone... she's still more powerful than any of us. Maybe not me. Physically yes, sure,” Willow continued.

“Why are you talking like Illyria, sweetie?” Natasha asked quietly.

“She’s probably going through a boomerang affect. The panic of her overload made her emotional cortex take over almost completely, despite being Illyria the entire time. Now, after the trauma of depowerment, her psyche has retreated into the cold comfort of her Illyria personality,” Willow explained.

“There is a sound missing. I am not sure what it is, but I miss it now that I cannot hear it any longer,” I stated.

“She also might not make much sense for a while. Depowerment is much like withdrawal. The world seemed dull and lifeless when I was going through magic detox. Give her time,” Willow said.

“Sweetie, it’s time to get you out of here. You need rest,” Natasha said gently, picking me up in her arms. It made me feel fragile and useless. A beaten and broken thing.

“Oi! Is she okay!?” Spike called out as he and Angel ran into the room.

“She’s tired. We’re exfiltrating her early. Go back up Stark and Rhodes,” Natasha replied.

“You got them, Red?” he asked.

“Her room at the Hyperion is always ready,” Angel stated.

“I got them,” Willow replied.

I gripped Natasha’s catsuit a little tighter and curled in against her chest. I didn’t want them seeing me like this. I didn’t want anyone seeing me like this. There was a dull scream in the back of my mind. The part of my soul that recognized what just happened to me. That I was turned into a bomb that would kill my friends. That did kill my friends. I looked upon their corpses, their ruin wrought by me. I murdered them and by a fluke of time, they survived. The screaming continued unabated.

That was why Illyria was in control right now.

Winifred Burkle couldn’t stop screaming.


	32. What Comes Next

Food tasted like ash to me. Even pancakes. Even pancakes made by Natasha. I pushed them around with my fork since I already took my obligatory five bites under her unwavering gaze. Even this five-minute reprieve was monitored by her just outside my door. Sure, she said she had to take a phone call, and I do believe that from the murmuring I could hear, but she was hovering just outside. I could see her shadow outside my suite’s door. The Hyperion didn’t warrant much privacy. More than the Villa and I know I wouldn’t have any peace if I was staying with Tony, Pepper, and JARVIS. I also wouldn’t want to put JARVIS through any kind of distress by monitoring my vitals like this.

It wasn’t as paranoid as it sounded because I had the evidence to back it up. I found code that sent my bioscans through a SHIELD backchannel to a Dr. Simmons after I had gone to sleep. The only one to access it was Natasha. Is it an invasion of my privacy? Yes, of course. But I will forgive it. The results of that bioscan are very disturbing. I went from a case of decaying superpowers to Stage 4 superpower cancer.

The Illyria powers were permanent now, a side effect of exploding in multiple timelines and then having forty percent of my power sucked into the Void. It didn’t want to leave me. It dug its claws deep into me and burned itself into me very similar to how Pepper will never be free of Extermis. The downside is that within two months I’ll be bedridden, in three my skin will have hardened into a kind of subdermal chrysalis in a misguided attempt to protect me, and in four I’ll die of complete and total organ failure. All if I can’t find a way to fix it.

I pushed aside my breakfast since even the heat trails had dissipated. Yeah, that’s still happening. A lingering effect of the whole exploding thing has been that I’m still seeing electromagnetic radiation auras. It’s a weird way to perceive the world and it was another reason I wasn’t going back to the Villa. I wasn’t going to attempt to handle looking at that much active tech. Though, I’d finally be able to truly ‘see’ JARVIS.

My five minutes must’ve been up. Natasha came in with the same perfectly schooled expression on her face. A trained expression so she wouldn’t give anything way. This particular one meant she was incredibly upset and worried. Not that she was giving anything away, of course.

“How was JARVIS able to accurately deploy the Iron Legion if you never shut down the power and turn off the heat buffers?” I asked. It was one of the many thoughts about last night that was bugging me. So many inconsistencies. So many questions. So many blank spaces due to multiple timelines.

“All Iron Man armors are equipped with LIDAR imaging capabilities,” she responded.

“No, they’re not. I would know,” I pointed out.

“You installed the tech two nights ago, before the raid,” she stated in a mix of confusion and wariness.

“I haven’t even developed that tech,” I replied bluntly.

“The tech is installed and you took credit for it. I don’t know what else to tell you,” she stated firmly.

“How much of the past five days do I not know about? I don’t even know what happened to Vanko besides the initial autopsy photos,” I said in frustration.

“Vanko subdued Stark and Rhodes under his whips. They turned their repulsors on each other and had a… Ghostbusters moment. The chain reaction killed Vanko outright but also damaged both Stark and Rhodes considerably. Your Regeneris serums helped considerably but Rhodes reported a level of spatial dissonance after that. Almost like a lingering effect of the explosion. He’s recovering at the Los Angeles AFB Clinic. Stark’s arc reactor suffered moderate damage in the blast and he’s been at work fixing it. JARVIS has deemed both of them unfit to fly an Iron Man armor until further notice,” she reported. I had to trust in Tony being able to fix it himself since he did invent the technology. Time to focus on other problems.

“The drones are being deactivated and destroyed as we speak?” I asked. If that rogue AI incident proved anything, we didn’t want randomly destructive tech just lying around.

“Actually, we figure they were tied to Vanko’s life signs. When he died, they self-destructed. There is nothing left of the Stark Industries complex. The explosions created a feedback loop in the Macro Arc Reactor which devastated the rest of the lot. The Iron Legion managed to evacuate those that needed assistance, but we would have lost Angel and Spike if it wasn’t for your special serum,” she continued. Their dust piles from my time loop flashed through my head and I looked away from her.

“I did lose them,” I whispered.

“You’re going to need to explain that,” she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“I did lose them and it’s my fault,” I stated clearly.

“Fred, you can’t possibly blame anyone but Vanko,” she tried to say to me. I stood up from my bed, my legs shaking underneath me and another coughing fit coating the inside of my fist in blood again. I wasn’t going to let this weakness confine me to my bed. I wasn’t going to let Natasha treat me like I was as fragile as I actually was. Even if pacing like this felt like it was killing me.

“No. I’m the only one that remembers the alpha timeline. What happened to make all this happen. I knew it was a trap, but I was so incredibly cocky and arrogant that I thought that I could beat anything thrown my way. In fact, I did. I’m still standing. Vanko’s trap was meant to depower me and even kill me outright. I found out in one of the timelines that I was meant to disintegrate into ash right in front of Tony. My ego let me walk into a trap knowing it was a trap and it led to Tony dying in a flash of temporal energy right next to me while he was trying to save me. I then went to Wesley after exploding the first time to tell him to be there, so he could drain me with the darkstone. An action that resulted in his skeleton on the ground before the second explosion. Wesley died that time, Tony died, James died, Angel died, and Spike died. It wasn’t until Willow intervened on that last run that we fixed it. But that doesn’t change the fact that I killed everyone two times over. Nothing can change that,” I furiously ranted at her.

“Except the fact that everything was changed. Those events never happened outside of your memories,” she said calmly, lightly pulling me back down to the bed. Her hands gently grabbed the washcloth from end table and cleaned the blood off my hand like this was normal. I wanted to scream at her for treating this like it was normal. For acting like it was just another day when I was dying from superpower cancer. But didn’t. I couldn’t. She was acting like it was normal because it was the only thing that was keeping her from falling apart at the seams. I knew this. So, I didn’t yell at her. I let her act like everything was going to be alright.

“But it leaves me with this gigantic hole in my memories for what everyone considers happened. It is the only thing I know,” I replied angrily.

“Five days ago, Future You appeared to Wesley about the darkstone. He contacted Willow who promised to be there for the raid just in case. Two nights ago, we all gathered at the Villa to prep when Future You and Future Willow took over your present-day forms to lay everything out for what needed to happen. That night you spent the night working in the lab on the LIDAR system on the assumption that Vanko was hiding something with the heat dome other than Extremis soldiers. The next night we commenced with the raid and you collapsed without any provocation. You didn’t walk into any trap. You just fainted and started cracking apart. Future You and Future Willow took over and you know the rest,” she explained.

“So that means ‘Tasha’ never happened,” I said flatly.

“Tasha?” she asked with the little incredulous eyebrow action. That hurt me more than a little. The eyebrow action said everything I needed to know about that night.

“The night of the planning session Tony asked you to take me to my room to make sure I rested. You threw me over your shoulder and carried me out of the Garage. I told you to put me down in a low, kinda sexy voice and I called you Tasha. You reacted… very positively. You told me to wait to call you that again until we were in my room and I told you that I’d say it when I wanted to. I called you it again. You couldn’t get me to my room fast enough and we slept… eventually,” I recapped sadly.

“That… that sounds like a very pleasant memory,” she whispered.

“That never happened,” I stated sullenly.

“That never happened,” she agreed.

My mood finally seemed to penetrate her defenses. Her shoulders sagged, and she seemed at a loss. I watched her hand twitch a little, like she was checking an urge. Now, I wasn’t feeling very accommodating at the moment because was I was stuck in a very egocentric pity party, but I wasn’t immune to her plight. Natasha is perhaps the only person who is more of a control freak than I am. Right now, to have so much out of her control and for me to be so obstinate like always, it must be killing her inside. I reached out and grabbed her twitching hand.

“This is difficult,” I whispered. Natasha simply nodded in response. I could read so much on her face. This kind of thing was why she never got emotionally compromised. This is why she lived behind her carefully crafted wall. Her fingers tightened around my hand and her face grew darker.

“If anyone can figure this out, I would bet on you,” Natasha said, finally able to bring up her neutral mask.

“Trust me, it’s on my to-do list,” I replied. She shifted until she was sitting in what I call her lawyer’s pose.

“First, Director Fury is en route to discuss what we found in Vanko’s files,” she informed me.

“With me? Couldn’t find anyone healthier?” I asked sarcastically.

“Coulson is babysitting Stark at the moment. While he is in better physical health than you, Coulson reports that mentally Stark has checked out. He’s tearing apart the lab with some unknown idea of his and babbling to himself about magic,” she explained.

“I’m… well, I’m not surprised, sadly. Fury won’t mind if I show up in my pajamas, will he?” I asked.

“I think you can at least get dressed, right?” she said amusedly, fetching clothing from my closet and dropping them on my bed. I grumbled but dutifully changed into extremely casual clothes set out for me with a lot of help from Natasha. Just a t-shirt and jeans. For a superpowered goddess of destruction I have a lot of pitiful moments with her.

Natasha picked up a small stuffed bunny from the side of my bed and gave me an amused look. I rolled my eyes and took it from her, taking extra care to place him against my pillow. She wasn’t letting up with the look.

“Leave Feigenbaum alone. He’s very powerful and protects me,” I stated firmly, much like a child would defending their imaginary friend.

“I don’t even know where to start with that. How is he… powerful? He’s a stuffed rabbit,” Natasha replied in utter bewilderment. Going by what she’s told me of her youth, I can’t say I’m surprised that she doesn’t understand the sentiment.

“Feigenbaum is the Master of Chaos. Nothing escapes his gaze,” I said.

“I don’t think I’ll ever fully understand you, Fred,” she said with a shake of her head. I gave her a real smile, not the fake ones I conjure up to make people believe I’m okay.

“That’s alright. I don’t think people should ever fully understand each other. Makes things too banal,” I said, wrapping my arm around hers, earning me an eyeroll from her.

Natasha led me out of my suite and to the elevator. Every moment we were in that steel box she scrutinized me much like Pepper would before a public function. I don’t know what she was looking for, but she was certainly looking for something. Finally, she turned me around and pulled my hair back into a quick bun. I had to sigh in exasperation at that. My hair? Seriously? My hair?

“Seriously?” I asked her.

“Appearance matters. If you appear as bad as you feel, Fury will notice. He’ll notice that I made no effort to make you appear presentable which will lead him into thinking things are much, much worse. Basically, if we appear like we’re trying to keep our house in order, he’ll take it to mean as such,” she replied simply. I felt a little bit of warm, fuzzy joy at her saying that. We had a house to keep in order. We were considered a unit. I liked that, however fleeting this house may be.

The elevator doors opened, letting me look out over the lobby. Immediately, Nick Fury looked up at me with his pet slayer at his side. That stare just bored right through me. I could tell Natasha was a hundred percent correct, he was evaluating everything about me. From the clothes she picked out for me to how she did my hair she purposefully conveyed a message to him that I was not the problem.

Natasha led me down the stairs right to Fury. He sighed and ran a weary hand over his smooth head. There was clearly a lot he wanted to ask me. Probably most of it accusatory or inflammatory. “Can it happen again?” he finally asked. Obviously, he meant me exploding. What else could he mean?

“No. Willow guaranteed that,” I replied. I could still hear the lack of sound of the Void screaming in my head. I honestly wondered if that sound would ever leave me. Would I ever be able to enjoy quiet again or would my adrenaline kick up and my skin start to itch as I remembered that soul-shredding nothingness.

“Ms. Rosenberg’s tactics, while effective, are never something I enjoy learning about,” he replied bluntly.

“I don’t think the Sorceress Supreme answers to SHIELD,” I pointed out. His eye twitched, meaning that at least we were still able to get under each other’s skin.

“You’re right, Ms. Burkle. The Summoner’s Sanctum isn’t under our purview, but that doesn’t mean I have to like hearing about dimensional tears to the Void,” he replied tersely.

“Sir, we have information to discuss?” Natasha asked leadingly, trying to head off one of our usual spats. I had a line all ready for him about no one likes hearing about dimensional tears to the Void much less actually hearing the hollow lack of sound from that tear to the Void. But Natasha was right. It wasn’t the time.

“Right. Vanko. Let’s take a ride, Ms. Burkle,” Fury said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Just around. Get some food in you. I’d prefer to talk in a controlled environment,” he replied.

“I’m not hungry,” I said bluntly. Maybe I had some fight left in me. Maybe I wasn’t going to let him believe that I will ever be someone that just does what he says.

“Fred…” Natasha sighed behind me. My bluster finally deflated, and I let my shoulders slump in resignation.

“Alright. I’ll go,” I said.

“Good. Romanov, you are up front with May,” he instructed.

“You’re coming?” I asked in surprise.

“Agent Romanov has been assigned to be your particular Shadow until I’m satisfied you’re healthy again. Though, I doubt she was planning on doing anything else regardless of orders,” Fury replied, giving her a hard look that just screamed don’t get involved with your asset. He pointed ignored the look I gave him that was much more grade school playground about winning his top operative away from him. I was a little smug.

“I’ll need my bag,” I said. My bag was locked away in Angel’s office, but Agent May held it up from beside her and handed it over. I fixed a strong glare at Fury. “This is why I have trust issues, Fury. Right here.”

“The fact that we cannot reverse engineer -and you will not supply us with- Regeneris gives me trust issues. We’re even,” he replied just as firmly. I checked my bag and the four vials of the thick Regeneris were still in there. I never really got around to mass producing the long acting one.

The four of us stiffly walked out to the SUV parked on the street just outside. May and Natasha moved with military precision to get in while Fury and I casually slid into the back. It took a while before anyone started to speak, not that I imagined May would. We got onto the freeway when Fury finally started talking.

“From the files acquired by Agent Romanov, we’ve linked Ivan Vanko to International Data Integration and Control, a public front company that specializes in the acquisition of tech companies and various capital. IDIC has purchased anything from tech startups to banks,” he explained.

“And who are they a public front for?” I asked.

“Advanced Idea Mechanics. On the surface, they appear to be a tech research firm and genius think tank, but we’ve found dozens of links to them and terrorist organizations around the world. A number of so-called bombings around the world are now thought to be failed tests of the Extremis serum,” he continued.

“And Aldrich Killian is the… what, head of AIM?” I asked.

“There’s nothing conclusive to tie him to AIM or that he exists anymore,” he replied.

“He exists. I talked to him in one of the timelines. He’s on Extremis. He is behind Extremis, behind Vanko creating me, and behind Eric Savin’s recovery of the Mark I suit,” I said quickly. He didn’t look a hundred percent convinced so I brought up a holo-panel to show him what I had put together. However, a flashing warning caught my attention. I immediately started typing countermeasures.

“Ms. Burkle, what does that mean?” he asked urgently, making Natasha turn around her seat.

“Perimeter scan says there’s a remote activated device in the front left wheel well. I’m trying to deactivate it,” I said without looking away.

“On it,” May said, swiping something on the touch screen display. My scanner picked up an EMP wave coming out of that wheel and the device vanished from my scanner. I sighed in relief.

“Who could have put a device on your vehicle?” I asked.

“Someone trained very well,” he replied.

“It’s a good thing it was disarmed. Imagine if it was a bomb? We’re getting onto the 101-110 interchange,” I pointed out. Just as I finished saying that a crippling blast blew apart that wheel. It must have had an analogue failsafe. An actual time bomb if the electronics got shorted. The perfect backup for something attached to a SHIELD vehicle.

With the front axle gone, our SUV twisted about violently until it rolled. The vehicle crashed through the cement wall and fell down onto the underpass below, shattering the metal guardrail. If we had landed more than four feet more to the side, we would have fallen to the underpass below that. The SUV was more or less still holding together and the frame was built of something crazy strong to not crumple under that.

Fury looked really messed up from that impact, May was dazed, and Natasha looked unconscious. My world just kept spinning and ringing. I felt like throwing up to be honest. I managed to glance out of the broken windshield and see that midday traffic had come to a sudden halt. Probably on all levels.

A hand reached in and grabbed me by the throat, pulling me clean from the wreckage and tossing me aside. My body skidded and tumbled from the force until I came to a rest against the other metal barricade. That took unnatural levels of strength and judging by the fact that it grabbed me by the throat, I’m guessing not friendly.

I flopped onto my back to let me see. Although, that just led to confusion and a headache. Female, blonde, dressed like Natasha including the Black Widow symbol on her belt. I really didn’t know what to think. I wish I could see her eyes through that five lens spec ops thing she was wearing so I could guess at what she was thinking.

May managed to get herself out of the car but that caught the Black Widow’s attention. She unholstered her machine pistol and fired off a burst through May’s back. The Slayer collapsed on the spot before she could even see her attacker. I tried to pick myself up, but she was already on me and lifting me up by the throat again.

“I’m depressed. Killian said you were powerless, Illyria, and that assassination would be easy. I admit I was hoping he was wrong,” she said in a strong Eastern European accent. I made a quick glance over to May, bleeding out on the ground but the Black Widow noticed. “Too bad. Your friends will die before I leave. It would seem they didn’t need the scientist. They needed other one.”

She raised her pistol, pushed the barrel directly over my heart, and fired off a burst of eight rounds. I fell from her enhanced grip or perhaps she just dropped me, and I crashed onto the on ramp below. The cyclone in my head and the thickness in my veins bled away to be replaced by that cold, hard place belonging to Illyria. I sat up smoothly at my waist and looked up at the underpass. I could hear gunfire and the micro explosions associated with Natasha’s specialized equipment.

It took me a couple of jumps onto the other twisting ramps that made up this freeway interchange, but I made my way up to the SUV wreckage. Natasha was nowhere to be seen but there were empty Regeneris vials next to May and Fury. The two were starting to get up. I watched Natasha step out from behind a pillar and wave her arms at me.

A few problems with that. The arm waving thing? Not in her repertoire. She was wearing exactly what Natasha was wearing but I gave that jacket to her and it was decked out with a lot of electronics. Electronics that I should see working because of this whole EMR aura thing. And speaking of EMR auras, since went did Natasha have one covering her entire body.

Added up, we have out-of-character behavior, a jacket that looks the same but lacks the modifications, and some kind of tech obscuring her body. So, what did I do? I picked up May’s dropped handgun and shot her in the head. Now that the tech had a hole in it, it shorted out entirely and revealed the other Black Widow under some kind of skintight mesh.

But where was the real Natasha? A prick of panic broke through the Illyria façade and I felt the power recede. I expected to collapse again in line with this whole Void flu thing, but I felt fine. No weakness, no sickness, no need to cough up blood into my hand. Maybe I just needed a hard reboot. And I consider that a hard reboot.

I brought up a holo-panel to scan the area. Luckily, I was scanning for a known biosignature instead of having to pick over the hundreds around me. I could visually rule out everyone running from the scene and general fleeing of terror. The scanner turned green and highlighted the pillar the Black Widow came out from behind. I ran over there and found Natasha unconscious on the ground with two of her own taser disks stuck to her neck.

“C’mon, Tasha, wake up,” I said quickly, tapping her cheek. I’d’ve tried True Love’s kiss if there weren’t so many people looking. Natasha groaned and rolled her head to the side.

“Fred?” she asked quietly.

“Just lay still,” I told her. She slumped back onto the cement with a thankful sigh. I checked her over and found a few pugilistic injuries that were gonna sideline her for a bit. It must be brutal having to fight someone with the same training and the same variant of the Super Soldier Serum.

“Yelena?” she asked, this time forcing herself to sit up, albeit with a generous amount of my help.

“Dead. She impersonated you with some kind of photostatic mesh. I saw through it and shot her where she stood,” I replied.

“I should’ve killed her myself,” she said dejectedly.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I saw you lying down there. I slipped up,” she replied.

“Head in the game, Ms. Rushman. She could’ve killed you instead of turning those tasers against you,” I pointed out.

“I haven’t felt this much pain in a while,” she admitted.

“I have to admit, I’m feeling those bullet impacts more than I’d like. And that fall. I’m a little stiff,” I commented, rolling out my shoulders. I quirked my head to the side and tried to focus on what honestly sounded like a respulsor whine. “Do you hear that?”

“No, honestly, my head is still ringing,” Natasha replied. An Iron Man armor came to a hover right beside us, startling me greatly. Around the helmet was a complex ball of energy, the physical appearance of JARVIS, it would seem.

“Mr. Stark is approaching on the 101 North in the Porsche 911 convertible. He requests that you answer your phone and jump in,” JARVIS explained.

I reached behind me and pulled out the shattered remains of my cell phone. There wasn’t even the fainted EMR aura on it anymore. Can’t be too surprised but it does inspire me to make a cell phone durable enough to survive that impact. “It took a sixty-foot fall or something,” I said off-handedly.

“I saw. There are 58 livestreams of the incident. I should note that SHIELD is attempting to lockdown the entire interchange, ma’am. Should you decide not to join Mr. Stark, you could be detained for a very long time,” JARVIS replied.

“I see why that would matter to me, but why does it matter to you, JARVIS?” I asked.

JARVIS paused, which is not normal behavior unless he was making another subjective qualification. “Mr. Stark should be the one to explain,” JARVIS said.

“Ms. Burkle!” Fury called out as he came over towards us. In the time it took for me to look away, JARVIS took off. That was weird because it would suggest that Tony was purposefully dodging SHIELD. Well, more than usual. “Was that Iron Man?”

“Seems like, why?” I asked.

“Because Coulson ain’t responding and we think Stark broke the perimeter,” he announced. I shrugged and dropped the remains of my phone to the asphalt.

“That doesn’t sound like Phil at all,” I said amiably. I casually checked my holo-panel and watched the timer tick down to Tony’s arrival. It would take two steps to make it off the underpass.

“Am I keeping you from somewhere?” he asked imperiously.

“Well, I don’t do the whole paperwork thing and being attacked by an assassin employed by AIM seems like a lot of paperwork. Oh, and she did mention that Killian sent her, so there’s some proof for you,” I said in my special tone that is bound to annoy Nick Fury.

“You and Stark are up to something. We should be apprised of it, so another near-disaster doesn’t happen!” he declared as I took just one step backwards towards the edge. There were only a few cars on the southbound exchange, so it was near-perfect for him. I could hear that particular sexy roar of a Porsche 911 coming. The timer said four seconds left.

“Glad you’re not dead, Agent May. That would have really upset me,” I stated sincerely. Natasha gave me an amused smile just as I stepped off and landed on the southbound bend. It gave me just a second to jump up and into the back of the seat of Tony’s car.

“I’m so glad you can stop time or that would have been incredibly risky!” Tony called out as I climbed into the passenger seat. Easy in a convertible if you’re not susceptible to being sucked out when travelling at 70 miles an hour.

“I can’t stop time anymore!” I replied with a manic laugh.

“We’re headed to the Port of Los Angeles!” he informed me.

“Why? JARVIS wouldn’t tell me! He said it was best if you told me,” I said.

“Aldrich Killian is the leader of AIM, the parent company of IDIC. They arranged a meeting with me today, but Pepper went in my stead thanks to the damaged reactor in my chest. Long story short IDIC wanted to buy STI, meeting went bust, Pepper pretended to not be superpowered and she let herself get captured. JARVIS tracked her to the Port of Los Angeles,” he explained succinctly.

Holopanels with the details on Pepper’s capture appeared in front of me without him even moving. I reached out to cycle through them to try to get at the image of Pepper walking out of the building with strange people and that image jumped to the forefront without me touching it.

“And that’s where we’re headed,” I said.

“Exactly. And I found out something interesting. You can count the number of Extremis users left on the planet on one hand. We’ve already taken out Savin, that leaves Killian, Ellen Brandt, and Jack Taggert,” he explained. The panels changed to show the military service history of Brandt and Taggert.

“And Pepper,” I pointed out.

“No, she’s Extremis 2.0,” he stated. The files that I created on the difference between Pepper and Eric Savin appeared in front of me.

“And how are you doing that?” I asked.

“Something I whipped up with your notes, JARVIS’ assistance, and the Sorceress Supreme’s help. We augmented your Synthetic Telekinesis tech to become more of an Augmented Technopathy implant. Coulson didn’t even know she was there,” he explained.

“He’s going to Taser you into the carpet for this,” I pointed out mirthfully.

“I know, already got the threat from him,” he replied.


End file.
